West Ham Targets First Season Victory In Premier League Duel With Crystal Palace

Add as a preferred source on Google

Julen Lopetegui is seeking improvements from West Ham as they aim for their first win of the season against Crystal Palace on Saturday. The Spaniard's debut match ended in disappointment, with the Hammers conceding a late goal in a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa last weekend.

Despite several new signings, few featured at the London Stadium. Lopetegui might opt for changes to secure their first points under his leadership. "The Premier League is the most demanding competition around the world, so the little details are key," he said. "It's true that we lost against one of the best teams in the Premier League last season. We have to keep the good things that we showed, and we did, and we have to improve the bad things to be more competitive."

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace also lost their opening game, falling 2-1 to Brentford after an early Eberechi Eze goal was disallowed when the referee blew his whistle before the ball crossed the line. Oliver Glasner has seen the Eagles progress significantly under his leadership, with only Manchester City, Arsenal, and Chelsea earning more points since he took over in February.

The German manager expressed frustration over their defeat to Brentford and acknowledged there is still work to be done. "We feel disappointed losing the season opener," he told the BBC. "It feels like we shouldn't lose the game. There were many situations where we did okay but know we can do better. In decisive situations, we were not on our top level."

Crystal Palace - Eberechi Eze

Eberechi Eze had more shots on matchday one than any other Premier League player (seven). It is the third time he has had 7+ shots in a Premier League game without scoring, making him unique among Crystal Palace players on record (since 2004-05).

West Ham - Tomas Soucek

Despite losing to Aston Villa, West Ham had the second-highest expected goals total of any Premier League side on the opening weekend (2.5 behind Liverpool's 2.7). Tomas Soucek was responsible for 1.1 of those with his five shots, though none hit the target.

Match Prediction: Crystal Palace Win

Palace have won their last two Premier League home games against West Ham, having won just one of their previous eight at Selhurst Park (drew two, lost five). Their recent home form is impressive after winning their final four Premier League games of 2023-24 at Selhurst Park by an aggregate score of 16-2.

The Eagles have not won five consecutive such games since October 2001 (a run of six), while they have never done so in the top-flight. However, Palace have won just five of their last 25 Premier League games in August (drawn seven, lost 13). Indeed, in all months they have played at least ten games in the competition, they have fewer wins (11) and their lowest win rate (21%) in August.

West Ham lost 2-1 against Aston Villa in their opening Premier League match this season—no side has lost both of their opening two games in a single campaign more often than the Hammers (eight times, level with Southampton). The Hammers also lost their last three Premier League games against fellow London sides in 2023-24.

The last four Premier League meetings between Palace and West Ham at Selhurst Park have produced a total of 24 goals—an average of six per game (13 for Palace, 11 for West Ham). Both teams have scored at least twice in each of these four matches.

Opta Win Probability

Lopetegui could choose to ring in changes as West Ham targets improvement and aims for victory against Crystal Palace this weekend.