The Matchday 22 Premier League clash between West Ham and Crystal Palace will take place on January 18 at the London Stadium. West Ham vs. Crystal Palace: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Referee: Thomas Bramall (England)
Matches – 14 (Premier League, 2023/24–2024/25);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 70;
Average yellow cards per match – 5;
Red cards shown – 3;
Average fouls per match – 25;
Penalties – 21%.
Predicted lineups for West Ham vs. Crystal Palace
West Ham (4-2-3-1): Lukasz Fabianski – Emerson Palmieri, Max Kilman, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Konstantinos Mavropanos – Guido Rodriguez, Edson Alvarez – Carlos Soler, Mohammed Kudus, Tomas Soucek – Lucas Paqueta.
Crystal Palace (3-4-2-1): Dean Henderson – Chris Richards, Maxence Lacroix, Marc Guehi – Daniel Munoz, Will Hughes, Jefferson Lerma, Tyrick Mitchell – Ismaila Sarr, Eberechi Eze – Jean-Philippe Mateta.
The starting lineup for each team in their previous match in this tournament is indicated.
West Ham
Graham Potter made a successful debut in the Premier League as West Ham's head coach. His new charges managed to overcome Fulham at home with a 3-2 victory. Prior to this, the club suffered two heavy defeats in the league – against Liverpool (0-5) and Manchester City (1-4). The team is in 12th place, with a comfortable 10-point lead over the nearest relegation zone opponent.
Forwards Michail Antonio, Niclas Füllkrug, and Jarrod Bowen will miss the match due to injuries.
- Both teams scored in 7 of West Ham's last 9 Premier League matches.
- The number "1" appeared in the final score in 6 of the Londoners' last 8 league matches.
- The team has won only one first half in their last nine league matches (4 draws and 4 losses).
Crystal Palace
The Londoners are on a four-match unbeaten run in the Premier League. During this period, the club drew with Bournemouth (0-0) and Chelsea (1-1), and defeated Southampton (2-1) and Leicester (2-0). Oliver Glasner's team remains in the lower half of the table but has pulled away from the relegation zone by 8 points. It's worth noting that in their last ten Premier League matches, the team suffered only one defeat (4 wins and 5 draws).
Midfielders Adam Wharton and Matheus França will miss the match due to injuries.
- The Londoners conceded only one goal in the first half of their last eight away Premier League matches.
- In their last nine league matches, Crystal Palace conceded more than one goal only twice.
- The club has not lost the second half in 8 of their last 9 Premier League games (4 wins and 4 draws).
West Ham vs. Crystal Palace: Match Prediction
Upon taking charge of West Ham, Graham Potter faced a significant challenge – three of the team's forwards were sidelined with injuries. While this issue was resolved in the match against Fulham, I doubt the same will work against Crystal Palace. Oliver Glasner's team is unbeaten away in the Premier League for six consecutive matches (3 wins and 3 draws). Moreover, their defense in away games is the best in the Premier League, conceding only 11 goals in 10 matches (the same as Tottenham).
Interestingly, since January last year, West Ham has played 21 home league matches but won consecutive matches only once. Considering the team won their last home game, it's likely they will drop points in this match. This is also suggested by the head-to-head statistics – in their last five visits to West Ham in the Premier League, Crystal Palace won twice with a score of 2-1, and there were three high-scoring draws.
My prediction – Crystal Palace with a handicap (0)