Crystal Palace and West Ham to end level at Selhurst Park
West Ham will travel across London on Saturday afternoon to take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. The Hammers are coming off of a hard fought come from behind draw with Liverpool on Monday night.
The draw has Manuel Pellegrini’s team 10 points above the relegation zone. Crystal Palace, on the other hand, are coming off of a 2-0 win over Fulham. The Eagles strengthened their bid for survival and now sit four points above the bottom three.
Crystal Palace have obtained just 12 of 36 possible points at Selhurst Park this season, the Premier League’s third lowest total. Roy Hodgson’s team has scored just eight times at home, posting a –4-goal difference. Crystal Palace will have Wilfried Zaha back from suspension, although he is set to miss a further game down the line following a recent ruling by the FA regarding his sarcastic clapping of a match referee. Despite winning against Fulham without Zaha, the midfielder is a key contributor to the team and important to Crystal Palace’s survival fight.
Hodgson will be without Pape Souare and Cheikhou Kouyate. Meanwhile, James Tomkins is expected to miss the fixture, but the team will make a final decision closer to game time. The lack of first-choice players will limit the manager’s depth against West Ham.
West Ham do not have any new injuries. However, the club is carrying several long-term absentees. One player who could return is Marko Arnautovic. The forward has been out of form due to injury and a failed transfer move to China in January. He was left out of the squad against Liverpool, but could return to face Crystal Palace.
Pellegrini’s team has returned to the inconsistent form it showed earlier this term. The manager has seen his team win just once in their last six and struggle overall. West Ham have lost three straight road matches. The Hammers have failed to score in all three games while conceding seven goals.
Saturday’s fixture at Selhurst Park will see neither team able to secure the victory. Crystal Palace are winless against West Ham in their last six games, but they have secured three draws in that time. The game will be low scoring as not only have West Ham not scored in their last three away games, but there have been fewer than 2.5 goals scored in six of Crystal Palace's last seven league home matches. Crystal Palace and West Ham will end in a draw with under 2.5 goals scored.
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