BBC Sport pundit Mark Lawrenson has delivered his prediction for West Ham United’s clash with Crystal Palace on Saturday, with the former Liverpool great going for a 2-0 victory for the Hammers.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side have picked up a couple of positive results in the past week after a disappointing run of results, but Lawrenson remains worried by the absence of a key man against the Eagles.
“West Ham have had back-to-back wins over Newcastle and Cardiff and they are starting to look far more like a team, although Marko Arnautovic’s hamstring injury is a blow,” he wrote on the BBC Sport website.
“Crystal Palace will have a point to prove after being beaten by Brighton last time out, but I am going for another Hammers win here,” he finished.
OPINION
You would have to say that West Ham will go into Saturday’s game against Palace as the favourites. Pellegrini’s men have impressed in recent weeks and look to be back to their best after a few dodgy results. Their win at Newcastle was a huge one and then they did what they needed to do at home to a newly promoted side in mid-week. Obviously, as Lawrenson says, Arnautovic’s absence is a major blow to the Hammers’ hopes, but they have seen improved performances from the likes of Javier Hernandez and Lucas Perez in the past week. Palace seem to be tugging along this season without any real aim or hope of achieving anything significant. They likely won’t be troubled by relegation, but you can’t really see them finishing higher than about 13th. For an ambitious team like West Ham they should be beating a side like Palace. 2-0 sounds a bit too comfortable, but the Hammers should get the job done no matter what.