West Ham vs Crystal Palace: Preview and Prediction

Saturday 8th December 2018

England Premier League
Saturday 8th December 2018
Kick off at 3pm GMT
Venue: Olympic Stadium

Match Preview:

Has Manuel Pellegrini after a difficult start turned West Ham around? Eyes have been opened and the Hammers certainly have everyone’s attention after surviving a series of injuries and winning their last two games against Newcastle and Cardiff. It wasn’t just that they won the games though, but the fact that they scored 6 goals in total.

Fans will be expecting their new found form to continue when they take on Crystal Palace at the weekend. The Hammers form has seen them lose just 1 game in their last five and they have climbed up to 13^th place, a healthy 9 points clear of the relegation zone.

At home form is still patchy given that they have lost 4 and won 3. But as aforementioned they are scoring goals and that is a very positive sign.

Crystal Palace lost away to Brighton 3-1 in midweek and to be fair they would have preferred this match to be at home rather than a double header away. Still a win would take them to within 3 points of the Hammers.

We have to go back to September for the last time The Eagles won on the road and they have lost 4 of their last 5 games away from home.

Team News:

West Ham: Massive blow for West Ham as Marko Arnautovic has been ruled out for the rest of the year with a hamstring injury. Aaron Cresswell could return from the same problem. Jack Wilshire is still recovering from an ankle injury and won’t be back for this game

Crystal Palace: The Eagles only have one major injury which is the continued absence of Christian Benteke, although manager Roy Hodgson has yet to make an official announcement on the strikers availability for this game

West Ham vs Crystal Palace Head to Head:

Last season this match finished 1-1.

Crystal Palace have not won at West Ham since 2015.

3 of the last 5 matches have ended in a draw.

West Ham vs Crystal Palace Prediction:

West Ham rarely keep on winning games and playing so well. And this could be a tough match for them, Palace have not been winning as many games as they like but they remain difficult opposition. Our main bet will be to see a draw at half time. The game should open up more in the 2^nd half and we will take more goals to occur here. We don’t expect to see many goals, as West Ham are yet to prove that they can keep a good run going.

West Ham vs Crystal Palace Betting Tips:

Half Time: A draw 2.10

Highest Scoring Half: 2^nd half at 1.91