West Ham face Crystal Palace at the London stadium at 3pm on Saturday. Sam Allardyce will be looking for his first win as Palace boss as he faces one of his old teams, West Ham.
Palace will be missing key players such as Wilfried Zaha to the Africa Cup of Nations after he switched his allegiances from England to Ivory Coast. Zaha has already hit the ground running in the tournament with a goal and an assist. Bakary Sako is also at the Africa Cup of Nations with Mali. James McArthur (calf) and Scott Dann (hamstring) could also be doubts while Mandanda (knee) will remain out.
Both teams will be looking to improve their recent run of form with Palace not winning since the 3-0 win over Southampton back in December. Meanwhile, West Ham will be shocked with Dimitri Payet refusing to play for West Ham with their recent losing streak.
Palace can take confidence going into this fixture with their attacking options being boosted with Loic Remy returning from injury with his first game for Palace coming against Bolton in the FA Cup third round last Saturday.
West Ham face problems of their own with James Collins (hamstring) being a doubt for the game. Arbeloa (leg), Masuaku (knee), and Tore (knee) will remain out for the Hammers.
Crystal Palace: Hennessey, Ward, Dann, Delaney, Kelly, Townsend, Cabaye, Flamini, Lee, Puncheon, Benteke
West Ham: Randolph, Cresswell, Reid, Ogbonna, Nordtveit, Antonio, Noble, Obiang, Feghouli, Lanzini, Carroll
West Ham are feeling the pressure at the London Stadium and their form against London teams has been poor so far this season, although the same can be said of Palace.
Without Zaha, Palace could really struggle in this game and the likes of Lanzini and Antonio could punish Palace’s defence. This is also the same for West Ham with the likes of Puncheon, Cabaye and Benteke posing a threat to their goal. This game is crucial for Bilic and Allardyce and I can’t see anything else than a draw.
Prediction: West Ham 1-1 Crystal Palace
