Premier League: Hammers Hoping for New Year’s Derby Win

Crystal Palace vs West Ham United

Crystal Palace and West Ham United collide for an intriguing Premier League London derby on New Year’s Day.

Both clubs are coming off big confidence-boosting victories against relegation strugglers, which snapped their recent winless runs.

The Hammers are in need of a result away from home to stay in the top-four race. But Patrick Vieira’s Eagles have been quite strong at Selhurst Park this season, so the Premier League 2021 betting odds for this London derby figure to be quite competitive.

Talking Points

Eagles’ last game with AFCON-bound stars

After getting thumped 3-0 by Tottenham on Boxing Day, Crystal Palace bounced right back and handed a 3-0 thumping of their own to last-placed Norwich last time out.

Odsonne Edouard gave the Eagles the early lead from the penalty spot, then set up the goals of Jean-Philippe Mateta and Jeffrey Schlupp just before half-time to put the game away.

Palace dominated despite missing key players in star forward Wilfried Zaha, who was suspended, and young midfielder Conor Gallagher, who was reportedly rested but is rumoured to have Covid. 

Zaha is expected to return to the lineup, his last game before leaving for AFCON. Schlupp, Cheikhou Kouyate and Jordan Ayew are also set to depart after this game. 

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen what Gallagher’s status will be. The 21-year-old has been one of the breakout stars of the season, scoring 6 goals with 3 assists.

Luka Milivojevic and Christian Benteke both came on as substitutes against Norwich after their recent bout with Covid, but it remains to be seen whether Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise will recover in time.

Palace have a terrific home record this season. They have lost just once in 10 games at Selhurst Park, with four wins and five draws.

West Ham eager to start another winning run

West Ham United finally halted their poor run of Premier League 2021 results – winless in their last three games, including back-to-back defeats against Arsenal and Southampton – by beating Watford 4-1.

It was a much-needed win for the Hammers, who have gone off the boil after an impressive start to their season.

Jarrod Bowen was brilliant with two assists, while Said Benrahma continued his impressive form of late by scoring in his second straight game. 

Pablo Fornals missed the Watford match due to Covid, which will limit David Moyes’ options to rotate his attack. Although, Nikola Vlasic is impressing of late, registering a goal and an assist in his last three appearances, and could get a rare shot to start.

West Ham were without midfield star Declan Rice against Watford due to suspension, but he is set to return to the lineup with Mark Noble dropping down to the bench.

However, the Hammers’ defence is still shaky, with Kurt Zouma, Angelo Ogbonna, and Aaron Cresswell all still out injured. West Ham have conceded six goals in their last three games.

West Ham’s win over Watford was their first away from home in their last five games. They had lost three of their last four away from the London Stadium, scoring just one goal during that span.

History

This London derby between Crystal Palace and West Ham has been quite a close one through the years. The Hammers have a slight 8-6 edge in terms of wins, with seven draws.

The two sides played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in their first meeting of the season back in August. Conor Gallagher equalised twice after West Ham went in front twice through Fornals and Antonio. West Ham also won 2-3 at Selhurst Park last season thanks to a Tomas Soucek brace.

Betting Tip

	Crystal Palace vs West Ham United	Crystal Palace Asian Handicap +0.25 @ 1.94
	January 2, 01:30 (GMT+8)

SBOTOP odds have West Ham installed as slight 2.31 favourites over Crystal Palace, who are priced at 2.97 to get the win at Selhurst Park. Meanwhile, a draw is at 3.35.

This figures to be a competitive London derby. These are two good teams whose confidence will be up after their recent rough patches.

But with Palace’s strong home form coupled with West Ham’s shaky defence, they have more than a decent chance of claiming a positive result.

 

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