West Ham head to Selhurst Park for their first reverse fixture of the season. Last time wasn’t a success for the Hammers, will this time fare any different?
We all obviously know how the last match went for West Ham. Decent start played well for an hour, then gave it up. The outlook in East London is somewhat bleak at the moment but a win on Boxing Day could help salvage the holiday season.
Scott
Crystal Palace 1-1 West Ham
Crystal Palace will be up for this match and West Ham have to put their extra rest to good use. If Pellegrini can continue to keep things to a plan for the side then we have a good chance of getting all three points, but without a plan, Hodgson’s organized Eagles will be too much for us and we’ll be looking at the bottom three for the New Year. Antonio is important to us but we have to have a plan that doesn’t just rely on him. As it is, I can see both sides being frustrated with the result.
Lou
Crystal Palace 1-1 West Ham
It would be easy to get caught into the same trap that I managed to find myself in after our victory against Chelsea, where we ended up getting beat by Wolves just a few days later. But after our result and overall performance against Southampton, I am cautiously optimistic.
The Antonio and Haller combination worked a treat and I am confident of the pair of them having a similar impact in this game. Haller had been crying out for some support all season, and Antonio is the perfect foil to give him that extra bit of energy around him.
Defensively, bar the second half against Arsenal, we have looked comfortable recently and we normally come away with at least a point in our trips to Selhurst Park. My biggest worry is the absence of Fredericks, and it will likely be Zabaleta who has a to face up to Zaha, and I’m not sure he will be able to deal with him. Taking all of this into account, I think we will come away with a score draw.
Jeremiah
Crystal Palace 2-2 West Ham
For the first time this season, we will be able to use a reverse fixture to look back on and help us predict how the Hammers match will go. Unfortunately for West Ham, the previous match against Palace didn’t go so well. Blame it on VAR or not but they gave it up after about 60 minutes.
This time around I think we will see much of the same. With the extended time off West Ham should come out rested and ready to go but Palace has been defensively sound and will be ready to play that defensive Ole Roy type of football. Back n forth it will go and it will end with both sides getting a point.
Adam
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Crystal Palace 1-2 West Ham
It’s going to be a nail biter, but I see the Hammers holding on for a hard-earned victory in this London Derby. The win over Southampton showed that Pellegrini isn’t so stubborn that he would continue to ignore the needed striker duo, and the added time off has helped the cause of playing Antonio and Haller together. It’ll be more of the same in this match, hopefully with more chances converted.
Fabianski is likely to return as well, this should be a motivation boost to the players who owe a lot to him and his remarkable pre-injury form. Goals galore and a push from the Eagles to be expected, but all three points head to East London in this one.
Boxing Day fixtures are always entertaining or at least hoped to be. This match should be fun to watch and hopefully will end on an optimistic note as we have mostly predicted. What are your thoughts? Let us know and COME ON YOU IRONS!