Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Premier League match.
The first round was a disappointment for both teams: West Ham lost at home to Aston Villa (1:2), and Crystal Palace, without Michael Olise, couldn't cope with Brentford (1:2). The match at Selhurst Park is a chance for both sides to improve their standing.
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace didn’t have a successful game against Brentford. Despite creating more chances (52-45), taking more shots (14-9), and having more corners (7-4), they still lost. Even their goal was an own goal by the opponent. Last year's attacking leader Michael Olise moved to Bayern Munich, and newcomer Daichi Kamada, who replaced him, didn’t impress: no shots on target, caught offside, and he received a yellow card. Although Eberechi Eze, playing on the left, had seven shots on goal, it wasn’t enough. In the match against West Ham, he will be their main driving force and threat.
West Ham
West Ham made a significant number of new signings, but in the first match against Aston Villa, Julen Lopetegui used them sparingly. Niclas Füllkrug and Crysencio Summerville came on in the 73rd minute, while Jean-Clair Todibo appeared in the 85th minute. This didn't help; in fact, they conceded the decisive goal in the 79th minute. Tomáš Souček had nearly a 100% chance in the seventh minute of added time but missed from a few yards out. The team’s players took as many shots as their opponents from Birmingham (14-15), especially in the second half (9-7), but only hit the target three times.
Crystal Palace - West Ham Prediction
The Premier League head-to-head statistics between these two teams are completely balanced. Both sides have won eight times and drawn eight times. At Selhurst Park, it's also even (+6=4-6). Notably, their most recent league meeting was the highest-scoring game in their history — 5:2 in favour of Crystal Palace. In fact, in their last 10 meetings, they scored fewer than three goals only twice. We are confident that after their opening matches, both teams will draw their conclusions and work on their finishing, so we can expect plenty of goals in the upcoming London derby.
