Crystal Palace vs West Ham Odds
| Crystal Palace Odds | +115 |
| West Ham Odds | +220 |
| Draw | +260 |
| Over / Under | 2.5 -138 / +110 |
Crystal Palace and West Ham will be looking for their first points of the new season when they meet in Saturday's clash at Selhurst Park.
Both sides were perhaps unlucky not to take at least a point from their opening fixtures after each conceded in the final 15 minutes.
Palace succumbed to Yoanne Wissa's 76th minute winner in a 2-1 loss at Brentford, while West Ham fell at home to Aston Villa by the same score after Jhon Duran scored in the 79th.
The Eagles took four points from their two league meetings last season and thumped the Hammers 5-2 in their previous meeting at Selhurts Park in April.
Let's dive into Crystal Palace vs West Ham.
Crystal Palace Picks
Save for Manchester City, Palace may have been the best team in the Premier League over the final seven weeks of last season, taking 19-of-21 possible points while outscoring opponents 21-4.
That likely owed partly to growing familiarity with the new system implemented under mid-season managerial hire Oliver Glasner and partly to a prolonged period of sustained health for wingers Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise, who finished with a combined 21 goals and 10 assists.
But Bayern Munich swooped in for Olise early in the summer, while Eze and last season's team scoring leader Jean-Philippe Mateta each had busy international summers. The former featured as a substitute in England's run to the Euro 2024 final, while the latter was a centerpiece of France's run to the Olympic men's final.
Mateta did not have a chance on goal in his return to Palace only a week after that final was played. Eze was far more threatening and even had a free kick goal disallowed under puzzling circumstances, but the Eagles only found the net through an Ethan Pinnock own goal.
Glasner's men may be left to absorb more defections before the primary transfer window closes, with defenders Joachim Andersen and March Guehi and reserve attacker Jordan Ayew all potentially looking at moves elsewhere in the Premier League.
West Ham Picks
The Hammers began a new era under Julien Lopategui with a 2-1 home defeat to Aston Villa that provided reasons for both promise and frustration.
The promise came with the volume of chances West Ham created, leading 2.3 to 2.0 edge in expected goals over a Villains side that will be playing Champions League football this year. And even though a third of that xG total came via Lucas Paqueta's goal from the penalty spot, it was one of five opportunities on the day with at least a 0.2 xG value.
The frustration will come with the reality that all but one of those chances came while the Hammers were trailing. And although the Londoners were perhaps unlucky not to get at least a point from their effort, that's also a risk that comes when you only create chances when the game state requires it.
The Hammers could get a major boost if Edson Alvarez is cleared to return for match day 2. The influential holding midfielder has been out since he injured his hamstring in June in Mexico's Copa America opener.
And unlike Palace, the Hammers have already secured a host of summer reinforcements. Attackers Niclas Fulkrug and Crysencio Summerville could make bids to start after they came off the bench in the 73rd minute of the opener.
Crystal Palace vs West Ham
Prediction
Palace closed last season exceptionally well, but the quality and quantity of actual and potential defections is an influence here that can't be discounted. Meanwhile, West Ham were a club with plenty of talent that needed a sense of newness after a sometimes tenuous relationship with previous manager David Moyes.
So until proven otherwise by the current season, I value these teams as relatively even, with the Hammers having an edge on talent alone. So while it might be tempting to play Palace at plus money at home, I don't think there's value there.
However, I am encouraged by how Eze began his new season. He looks like a player who has gained confidence following his summer international duty, and his goal scoring record was far better at home last season than on Palace's travels.
He scored in 6-of-12 starts at Selhurst Park, and while that may have reflected an over-performance relative to expected goals, he's done that consistently over his career.
With no evident injury issues, I think there's value on an anytime scorer wager on Eze here at +220 and an implied 32.3% probability.
