As West Ham goes against Crystal Palace this weekend tt’s a story of two sides that have made opposite starts to the Premier League season.
West Ham’s summer signings have failed to impress, their team is injury-ridden and their defense is almost non-existent. Out of a possible 21, they have only been able to gather 4 points. Crystal Palace though have made quite an impressive start and their attack has been a huge reason for this. While Benteke has been a revelation, Townsend has impressed as well. With 11 points at their stack, Palace occupies the eighth position in the league.
Important West Ham Players
Dimitri Payet –
Having rubbed off some of the Euro tiredness, Payet finally looks ready to contribute fully. He has retained his role as his side’s creative hub having created 19 chances this season already. Even though he hasn’t played like goal scoring threat yet, his goal in the last match surely signaled his intentions. He’s a player with natural flair who can create something out of nothing. This indispensable quality would definitely be important when his side goes against Palace.
Michail Antonio –
Antonio was almost a non-factor in the match Middlesbrough. But this does not erase the impressive start to the season he has made. Having scored 5 goals and created 6 chances, he is equally important to West Ham’s offense as Payet is. Having earned an England call-up, he would definitely want to keep the good run going.
Winston Reid –
The West Ham defense is in shambles. But there’s one player who has been an exception to this and that’s Winston Reid. Even in the shambolic performance against Middlesbrough, he looked assertive and confident. This should definitely be the silver lining and the fans should hope that with his emphatic displays, Reid can galvanize the rest of the defense as well.
Important Players to Keep in Check
Christian Benteke –
This week on international duty, Benteke scored the fastest international goal in 8.1 seconds. This is just a testament to the fine form he has been this season. Signed by Palace during the summer, he has already scored 3 goals and created a total of seven chances for his teammates. Due to his ability to influence the attack, he is definitely one player West Ham need to be on the lookout for.
Stats: (Taken From FourFourTwo)
- Crystal Palace have won just one of their last four top-flight meetings with West Ham, drawing one and losing two.
- West Ham have won on each of their last two top-flight visits to Selhurst Park; they’ve never won three in a row away to Crystal Palace in the league.
- There has been a sending off in each of the last three top-flight clashes between these two sides (Kouyate in Apr 2016, Gayle in Oct 2015 and Murray in Feb 2015).
- Dimitri Payet scored in both the Hammers’ meetings with Palace last season, indeed against no other side has he scored more league goals (also two v Newcastle).
- Manuel Lanzini also scored in both West Ham’s games against the Eagles last season (two goals in total), with Palace the only side he has scored more than one against in the top-flight.
- Since Christian Benteke’s Premier League debut in September 2012, only Olivier Giroud (also 19) has scored as many headed goals in the competition as the Belgian striker.
- The Eagles are unbeaten in five Premier League games (W3 D2 L0), their longest run without defeat since December 2015 (six games).
- West Ham are without a win in their last five top-flight games (W0 D1 L4), their longest winless streak in the competition since December 2015 (eight games).
- Crystal Palace have now gone seven games without a London derby win in the Premier League (W0 D2 L5), the longest run of any current top-flight club.
Predicted Lineup
Adrián | Álvaro Arbeloa, James Collins, Winston Reid, Aaron Cresswell | Cheikhou Kouyaté, Mark Noble, Pedro Obiang | Michail Antonio, Dimitri Payet, Manuel Lanzini
Predicted Scoreline
The inform Crystal Palace should be able to pull off a 2-1 win at the Selhurst Park.