Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has predicted that West Ham will beat Crystal Palace at the London Stadium on Saturday.
The Hammers come into this London derby on the back of two consecutive Premier League wins, while the Eagles lost a fierce clash against rivals Brighton on Tuesday.
Merson has predicted a 2-0 win for Manuel Pellegrini’s side on Saturday because Palace do not score enough goals to trouble the in-form Irons, with manager Roy Hodgson sure to be frustrated.
In his predictions for Sky Sports, he said: “I’ve gone for West Ham to win this game. Crystal Palace just don’t score enough goals for me.
“Roy Hodgson must be pulling his hair out. They could have beat Burnley by 10 but then three days later in a massive game against Brighton they just get rolled over. Brighton had 10 men for a lot of the game, that was the worrying thing.
“I just don’t see Palace scoring and to add to that West Ham have turned a corner. They have had back-to-back wins against Newcastle and Cardiff and now they are at home again. I’m struggling to see anything but a West Ham win.”
OPINION
A West Ham win does look the most likely outcome of Saturday’s clash, so it is not a surprise to see Merson back them. The Hammers are in some really good form at the moment after a small blip, winning consecutive Premier League games for the first time this season. Their initial revival under Pellegrini was halted by another dip in form, but that has now been forgotten once again with six points from their last two games. Saturday’s clash is another winnable one for them, with Crystal Palace having a really tumultuous season so far. Roy Hodgson’s side have won just three games to sit in 15th, six points behind the Hammers. As Merson points out, their biggest weakness is their attack, with the Eagles having scored just 11 goals in their 15 games so far. If Hodgson fails to sort that out in the January window then you do feel as though they may be candidates for relegation come May.
