West Ham secured a memorable result in midweek as the Hammers rallied back from 2-0 down to win 3-2, knocking Tottenham Hotspur out of the Carabao Cup and setting up a quarter-final tie with Arsenal, and crucially raising optimism at the club.
Slaven Bilic’s position as manager continues to remain under threat and he’s been left staring down the barrel of a gun following last week’s defeat to Brighton, which saw the Hammers sit above the relegation zone on only goal difference.
This weekend’s clash with Crystal Palace is therefore extremely significant, with the Eagles currently rooted to the bottom of the table, but Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson doesn’t believe the Hammers will be able to secure back-to-back victories.
Stating how impressed he was with the performance in midweek, Merson predicted a 1-1 draw from the match at Selhurst Park.
‘West Ham will get a massive amount of belief from beating Tottenham and Crystal Palace, who lost a six-pointer to Newcastle, just got hammered 4-1 by Bristol City in the Carabao Cup. I know they didn’t put out a full team but you don’t lose by that many to a Championship side. You need to start building your confidence.’
‘Any fan wants to see desire, a bit of heart, and West Ham showed that in the second half at Wembley. Fair play to them, I can’t imagine too many of the players wanted to come back onto the pitch 2-0 down at half-time but to rally and win the match is impressive.’
Despite Crystal Palace’s poor result in midweek against Bristol City, Merson expects Roy Hodgson’s side to get something from this match and it may spell the end for Bilic, as the Hammers could slip into the drop-zone.
