Premier League: High-Flying Hammers Look to Ground Eagles

Crystal Palace vs West Ham United

David Moyes has West Ham United dreaming big once again. The Hammers have started the year on a fantastic run of form that has seen them climb up to 7th in the Premier League table.

West Ham will now look to add yet another win as they take on struggling Crystal Palace in a London derby.

The Eagles have fallen completely out of form in recent weeks, and if they don’t recover soon, they could be sucked into a relegation scrap.

 

Talking Points

Palace having problems in attack

Crystal Palace can’t seem to buy a win at the moment. They have won just once in their last nine matches in all competitions, with 4 draws and 4 losses.

Palace have found goals quite hard to come by of late. Since their 5-1 win over West Brom at the start of December, they have scored just 5 goals in their last nine games and none in their last three.

After a strong start to the season, the goals have dried up for Wilfried Zaha, who has scored just once during the last nine games.

Palace have addressed their glaring need for an offensive spark by signing Jean-Philippe Mateta on loan from Bundesliga side Mainz. The 23-year-old is Mainz’s leading scorer with 10 goals in 17 appearances, including 7 goals in 15 Bundesliga matches.

Zaha was absent in Palace’s most recent match, a heavy 4-0 defeat against title contenders Manchester City, due to injury. Centre-back Cheikhou Kouyate was also not part of the squad for undisclosed reasons, and it remains to be seen whether they will be able to return against West Ham.

Aside from Zaha and Kouyate, Jeffrey Schlupp and Mamadou Sakho are also among Palace’s injury absences. Although, neither one figures to affect the Premier League 2021 odds for this match.

Palace desperately need Zaha to return to the line-up. Without him, their misfiring attack is even more devoid of a goalscoring threat.

Crystal Palace have won just once in their last five home matches (2 draws, 2 losses). Although, three of those matches were against Spurs, Liverpool, and Leicester.

 

West Ham keep on winning

West Ham are one of the most in-form teams in the league at the moment. Their recent Premier League 2021 results have seen them go unbeaten in their last five matches and have won each of the last three.

They are also through to the fifth round of the FA Cup after thrashing Doncaster 4-0 over the weekend. David Moyes was able to field a much-changed squad, although Said Benrahma made his case for more playing time with another fine performance. The 25-year-old has started all five of West Ham’s matches thus far this year.

Benrahma is likely to keep his place in the side, while the Hammers’ other first-choice starters should return to the first XI for their matchup against Palace.

Main striker Michail Antonio is getting back to form after his recent injury layoff and has scored in back-to-back matches, both of which were game-winning goals.

Meanwhile, Jarrod Bowen and Soucek continue to produce impressive performances. The two are tied with Antonio with a team-high 5 goals this season.

On the other end, Moyes has continued to make sure the West Ham defence remains solid. They have conceded just one goal over their last four games.

West Ham have a decent record away from home. They have 4 wins out of 9, with 2 draws and 3 defeats. That includes their famous comeback from three goals down to draw 3-3 with Spurs.

 

History

This particular London derby between Crystal Palace and West Ham has been as competitive as it gets. Over their last 15 Premier League meetings, Palace and West Ham have 5 wins apiece, while they have also drawn 5 times.

They drew their first meeting this season 1-1 at the London Stadium. Christian Benteke gave Palace the lead before Sebastien Haller equalised. Benteke was then sent off for a second yellow card 20 minutes from time, but Palace still hung on for a point.

Palace had done the double over their London neighbours last season. Jordan Ayew scored the late winning goal in both of their victories.

 

Betting Tip

	Crystal Palace vs West Ham United	1X2 West Ham United @ 2.35
	January 27, 02:00 (GMT+8)

SBOTOP odds have West Ham favoured at 2.35 to pick up the away win. Crystal Palace are priced as 3.00 home underdogs, with a draw at 3.20.

Given the two sides’ recent form, the Hammers seem to have a signifcant edge over Palace. They are playing with loads of confidence at the moment and clearly have more goals in their squad than Palace.

West Ham’s winning run must end at some point, but it won’t be after this London derby as they should have enough to get past the struggling Eagles.

A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR () BETS ARE WORTH:
= €20 (Highly confident)	= €10 (CONFIDENT)	= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)

Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.

 

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