Crystal Palace vs West Ham Odds
| Crystal Palace Odds | +120 |
| West Ham Odds | +250 |
| Draw | +220 |
| Over / Under | 2.5 -138 / +110 |
Crystal Palace will try to build on their shock win over Liverpool last weekend and potentially make a strong finish to the season when they host West Ham in a London Derby on Sunday.
Bolstered by the return of Michael Olise to the starting XI, Palace rode Eberechi Eze's first-half goal and some exceptional Dean Henderson goalkeeping to a famous 1-0 win at Anfield that will ease the Eagles' relegation fears.
West Ham look to avoid a post-European hangover after their quarterfinal exit from the UEFA Europa League following a 1-1 draw in the second leg against Leverkusen at home that sealed a 3-1 aggregate defeat.
These sides drew 1-1 back in their previous meeting at the London Stadium on Dec. 3.
Here is my Crystal Palace vs West Ham prediction.
Crystal Palace
While Palace's victory over Liverpool was certainly surprising and a little fortunate, a menacing offensive performance should have been expected once we saw manager Oliver Glasner field a squad that included both Olise and Eze on the flanks.
It was only the fifth time the first-choice wingers have started together in the Premier League game since both have battled injury issues. But a Palace attack that overall has struggled has scored in every one of those games and earned three victories.
The performance at Liverpool was actually the best of those in terms of the quality and consistency of their attacking threat. Palace created three chances with an xG value above 0.50, and Jean-Philippe Mateta forced an exceptional save from Alisson to prevent Palace from doubling the lead in the second half.
Notably, it was also the first time both wingers started together since Glasner took over and installed his 3-4-3 setup. And it was the third time in seven games under Glasner that they exceeded 2.0 xG created, although the first came against 10-man Burnley.
West Ham
The Hammers are out of Europe and possibly at the end of an era with most believing manager David Moyes will move on at the end of the season. And yet there is plenty to fight for down the stretch for the Irons, even if it's unclear how many English top-flight teams will qualify for which European competitions next season.
West Ham began the weekend in eighth place with only three points separating sixth from ninth. But the others involved have at least one match in hand, and Chelsea — who were busy Saturday playing Manchester City in the FA Cup semifinals — will have three extra games to play by the time the weekend ends.
Ideally, Moyes would like to use Sunday as a match to recoup before the stretch run, but that deficit of games compared to other European may not allow him any squad rotation. And the Hammers' crowded schedule has possibly contributed to a second-half league slide. They've won only three times in league play in 2024, and only once in their last six PL fixtures.
Even if Moyes were to rotate some following Thursday's second leg draw, that wouldn't factor in for influential midfielder Lucas Paqueta, who was suspended for Thursday's contest.
When West Ham travel this season, they've been one of the most reliable teams for bettors on the over, with 13-of-16 away league games going over 2.5 goals and 8-of-16 going over 3.5. It's a phenomenon you often find with teams who are best when attacking in transition.
Crystal Palace vs West Ham
Prediction
With Olise returning last weekend and the Hammers in a weird moment, the line has moved heavily toward the Eagles here to the point where it's worth considering if it's an overreaction.
The Hammers may only have three league wins in 2024, but they've posted a 5-3-1 (W-L-D) record in their nine previous away matches against sides in the lower half of the table.
That would be enough reason to back them here at the current price if there wasn't the unknown of a potential European hangover, or if there wasn't another trend that was more obvious to get behind. But there is, and it's on both teams scoring to get to a higher total.
A same-game parlay on yes – both teams to score and the total landing above 2.5 goals – has cashed in 11-of-16 West Ham away games. It's also come good in four of the five matches Eze and Olise have started together. And it was extremely unfortunate that it didn't cash in last week's Eagles' 1-0 win, in which teams combined for 4.7 xG.
Just because we reached the wrong outcome that day doesn't mean it was the wrong decision. So it's one we're making again at +105 odds and an implied 48.8% probability. There's still value where other books have it in the -115 range.
