Crystal Palace v West Ham United Betting Tips

A London derby is the climax of Saturday’s Premier League fixtures and it should be a great atmosphere at Selhurst Park.

After a poor first three matches which culminated in just one point, Crystal Palace went on a three game winning streak to boost them up into eighth position before earning a highly respectable draw against European football chasers Everton.

The Eagles looked all out of ideas up front in their first couple of games but since the arrival of striker Christian Benteke (a masterstroke move from manager Alan Pardew), Palace have been fantastic and finally have a focal point for their attacks. The former Aston Villa man already has three goals in just five Premier League appearances for his new club. His header in Palace’s last match against Everton is one of the best you will see – the way he hung in the air, despite being challenged, to cushion the ball home so accurately in the far corner was outstanding. Unfortunately the odds on the Belgian scoring have shortened for this match and so punters cannot really take advantage of his form.

On the face of it you would say Palace also look pretty solid at the back with just eight goals conceded so far this term. However, the Eagles are still yet to keep a clean sheet which will worry Alan Pardew. Central defender Scott Dann is undoubtedly a big miss for Palace but James Tomkins is a more than capable deputy and should be really up for a match against the club that saw fit to sell him in the summer.

After being lauded as one of the best teams in England last season, Slaven Bilic’s West Ham side have had a slump and find themselves in the bottom three with just the one win to their name. Much was expected of the Hammers this season after such a good campaign last year but it has failed to materialise. For some reason there are fans calling for Bilic’s head after this poor start – get a grip. Unfortunately this shows the fickleness of fans in the modern era.

Many people see the move to the London Stadium as the reason West Ham are not doing well this season. However, their away form has been equally poor with the Hammers losing all three of their matches on the road.

Fortunately for West Ham, left back Aaron Creswell will be available for Saturday’s trip to south London after last playing a Premier League game five months ago. Having said that, it is just one player and that will hardly solve all of West Ham’s problems – particularly in defence where they have been so poor and disorganised.

Overall it is hard to see passed a Palace win given the form of both of these teams. At 23/20, ‘Crystal Palace to Win’ is certainly a bet to be on come 17:30 on Saturday evening. However, if you want something more for your money then ‘Crystal Palace to win & Over 1.5 Goals‘ is also well worth a go at 8/5. All three of Palace’s wins this season have seen at least two goals hit the net, a stat that looks promising ahead of this match.

See more Premier League tips here.