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West Ham logo
Premier League
Apr 19, 2014 at 3pm UK
 
Crystal Palace logo

0-1

FT(HT: 0-0)
Jedinak (59' pen.)

Preview: West Ham United vs. Crystal Palace

Sports Mole previews the Premier League clash between West Ham United and Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park as the in-form Eagles go in search of a fifth straight win.

Surprise package Crystal Palace will go in search of a club record-equalling fifth consecutive Premier League win when they travel to West Ham United on Saturday.

The Eagles reeled off five victories on the spin in the competition's inaugural 1992-1993 season, but that was not enough to keep them in the top flight.

Their winning streak this campaign, though, appears certain to result in the Selhurst Park outfit avoiding relegation from the Premier League for the first time in their five attempts.

A 3-2 triumph at Champions League hopefuls Everton on Wednesday took Palace to the magic 40-point milestone and marked a high point in their remarkable turnaround under Tony Pulis.

The Welshman took charge in November with the Londoners joint bottom of the table, but they have since collected 33 points from 22 games to move to within touching distance of a top-half finish.

During this time period, Palace have accumulated more points than any side outside of the current top seven, and only six fewer than Arsenal and four fewer than reigning champions Manchester United.

Victory at Goodison Park in midweek lifted the Eagles above West Ham and into 11th in the table, with the Hammers surrendering a lead to lose 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium 24 hours earlier.

A seven-point gap to the bottom three and a healthy goal difference means that Sam Allardyce's inconsistent side are unlikely to be dragged into trouble with four games of the season remaining.

George McCartney is pushing for a recall at the expense of Pablo Armero at left-back, while midfielder Kevin Nolan could also be fit to feature at Upton Park, with Mohamed Diame a candidate to make way.

Joey O'Brien, Marco Boriello and James Collins remain sidelined, but Andy Carroll is at last injury-free and will be hoping to use the final games of the campaign to press his England World Cup chances.

Palace will have a full squad to choose from if Yannick Bolasie and Kagisho Dikgacoi, who may be recalled to strengthen the midfield, recover from knocks. Thomas Ince is on standby if Pulis needs to make a change.

Jason Puncheon has scored four goals in his last three appearances for the visitors, who are unbeaten in their last five against West Ham in all competitions.

Recent form

West Ham: LLWWLL

Palace: WWWWLD

Possible starting lineups

West Ham: Adrian; Demel, Tomkins, Reid, McCartney; Noble, Nolan, Nocerino; Jarvis, Downing; Carroll

Palace: Speroni; Mariappa, Dann, Delaney, Ward; Jedinak, Dikgacoi, Ledley; Bolasie, Puncheon; Jerome

Sports Mole says: 1-1


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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool14112129111835
2Chelsea1594235181731
3Arsenal1585229151429
4Manchester CityMan City158342721627
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest157441918125
6Aston Villa157442323025
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton156632522324
8Bournemouth157352320324
9Brentford157263128323
10Fulham156542220223
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1562731191220
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle155551921-220
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd155461918119
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372028-818
15Everton143561421-714
16Leicester CityLeicester153572130-914
17Crystal Palace152761420-613
18Ipswich TownIpswich151681427-139
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1523102338-159
20Southampton1512121131-205


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