The GSH Staff predict the West Ham vs Crystal Palace clash

West Ham and Crystal Palace will have the spotlight on them as they play under the lights on Saturday night. It may not be Spurs, but a London Derby clash nonetheless and it’s coming up.

In typical late-week fashion, the staff at The Green Street Hammers got together to give you some predicted outcomes before this “must-win” clash heats up. Please let us know what you think and without further ado, the West Ham v Palace predictions.

Scott

West Ham 3 – 1 Crystal Palace

A season or two ago I was worried that Palace looked to be forming an interesting side capable of finishing above us, just as we were really struggling with the London Stadium transition. Now I don’t have any fears of the kind, and I think Palace is a player sale away from being amongst the most boring sides in the league.

As such I would be very disappointed if we weren’t walking away from Saturday’s match with a strong performance and a result to match. Annoyingly we will be without Fabianski and Lanzini is unlikely to start, but the threat of Yarmolenko, Haller, and Anderson should be more than a match for Palace’s defense.

As long as we play the football we’re capable of this match shouldn’t pose any threats. I hope we see West Ham move freely through the match and carry on what has been a great start to the season, and a real chance to stay with the top teams in the league.

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Adam

West Ham 4 -1 Crystal Palace

I think this is the game we see Sebastien Haller go off for the Hammers. The team needs a strong performance to rebound mentally from the loss of Lukasz Fabianski and they can do this by taking the legs out from under Palace with a dominant and relentless offensive press. Haller is my pick to get multiple goals, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the midfield get in on the goals as well.

Roberto won’t keep a clean sheet against the likes of Zaha and Townsend (and I guess Ayew), but that’s okay. Fabianski has set an unbelievably high bar for keepers and a few good saves and nothing hurting the team performance-wise will be enough to see all three points come the Hammers’ way.

Jeff /

West Ham 2 – 1 Crystal Palace

One of the more modern theories stolen from the business world and now applied to sport is that of the “Dead Cat Bounce” – a small, short-lived recovery. In the NFL, when a team loses its starting quarterback to injury, the first game the back up plays his team tends to rally around him and play well. Before they eventually find their true level.

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You know where I am going with this one. The loss of Lukasz Fabianski for West Ham United until the New Year is massive. We won’t know exactly how big until we get there. But starting this weekend in the match vs Crystal Palace the journey with Roberto begins. But I fully expect the team and the Manager to rally around him at home in this one.

Plus all the numbers in the recent history of the series point the Hammers way. Unbeaten in their last 8 vs Palace; Palace have only taken a point in three trips to London Stadium; and the Irons have won their last three home London derbies.

I hope we don’t see a dead cat bounce for Roberto and West Ham. I hope that the current run of form continues and Roberto is capable of winning points for this club until Fabianski returns. Much the same way our old friend Adrian is doing for Liverpool at the moment.

Jeremiah

West Ham 3 – 2 Crystal Palace

This weekends matchup will be more than just a London Derby, it will be a homecoming of sorts for two former West Ham boys. An unfortunate injury to James Tomkins still keeps him sidelined, but Cheikhou Kouyaté will most likely be in the starting XI for Palace and although they haven’t been an offensive juggernaut this season I can see them getting a few past Roberto.

On the other side of the pitch, West Ham is still riding on some pretty high form at the moment and I don’t think that Palace has the likes to stop them. With a great home record against Palace, the Hammers should keep it up and take this one late although it won’t be pretty at times.

Louis /

West Ham 3-2 Crystal Palace

I think that we’ll just about scrape this one. Palace is quietly going under the radar, finding themselves just a point below us in 9th place.

With Fabianski injured for a while, Roberto needs to step up and make a name for himself, essentially proving many of his doubters wrong. Either way, I think we’ll concede a couple – but not necessarily down to him.

Haller hasn’t scored in his last three games, but I think he’ll get back to scoring ways this time out at London Stadium.

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The staff, once again, seems optimistic and why not? The Hammers are in top form at the moment and sitting just outside of a Champions League spot. As long as the momentum keeps going things are really looking up. Until then, COME ONE YOU IRONS!