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West Ham and Crystal Palace kick-off an action-packed weekend of football at Upton Park in Saturday's early game as both sides look to return to winning ways in the Premier League.
The Hammers have hit the rocks in recent weeks and have only managed to win once in their last nine top-flight games.
They were humbled by West Brom in the FA Cup and the pressure is beginning to mount on manager Sam Allardyce as the club's season appears to be fizzling out prematurely.A much-needed victory would see the East Londoners move to within a point of seventh-placed rivals Tottenham, who are playing in the Capital One Cup final on Sunday.
Alan Pardew got his tenure as Crystal Palace manager off to the perfect start with four consecutive victories following his departure from Newcastle.
However, similarly to Saturday's opponents, the Eagles have struggled for consistency and head across London with just one win in their last five and on the back of consecutive defeats in league and cup competitions.
Aaron Cresswell's solitary effort handed the Hammers a 1-0 win when Pardew took Newcastle to his former employers and he will be looking for a positive result as Palace look to guarantee their Premier League status.Team news
Nene is in line to make his West Ham debut. The 33-year-old forward has yet to feature since joining the Hammers but, with Andy Carroll (knee) and Carlton Cole (hamstring) reducing options in attack, the former PSG forward will be involved.
With the exception of the suspended Morgan Amalfitano, West Ham have a fully-fit squad to choose from.Crystal Palace will be without three strikers for the trip to the Boleyn Ground. Fraizer Campbell, Yaya Sanogo and Marouane Chamakh will all miss the clash with hamstring injuries while Jonny Williams (groin) and Jerome Thomas (knock) are also out.
Eagles captain Mile Jedinak could make his first start under Pardew, having returned from a sore ankle, while James McArthur has recovered from a thigh problem.Opta facts
Crystal Palace have won four of their last seven matches in all competitions against West Ham.
West Ham have picked up 199 points in Premier League London derbies.
Allardyce and Pardew have both managed Newcastle United and West Ham United in the Premier League. Head to head, Allardyce has won five and lost one of their nine meetings as opposition coaches.Merson's prediction
I am just about going for a home win here. I know West Ham have hit a bit of a rocky patch recently, but I still think that they will just have a little bit too much for Palace at home.PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1
Betting
West Ham are Sky Bet’s [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] favourites, with Alan Pardew rated [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] to get one over his old club with Crystal Palace. A draw is on offer at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and a 1-1 final score is thought to be the most likely outcome at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. West Ham’s hopes of a top-six finish are fading fast, with the Hammers’ price drifting out to [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] in recent weeks. As for Palace, they’re now firmly expected to avoid relegation at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] to go down.Another ridiculous 4:45am kick off on a saturday... given our previous performances and results I shall not even be entertaining the idea of getting up to watch it live...
Another chance to put one over on a pardew team... or another chance for an ex to come haunt us...
Amalfitano is banned
Carroll is out
Cole is injured (like that makes a difference)
So we'll probably see Nene on the bench
We really need to start winning... both the teams below us have relatively easy games - so anything other than 3 points is likely to see us dropping down the table...
C O Y I !
fupp SAKE
