The last place West Ham figured it was going to be dealing with even in the early stages of the 2016-17 season was a fight to stay out of the relegation zone. There's obviously plenty of soccer left to be played, but if the season ended today, the Hammers would be going down. Slaven Bilic needs some wins in the worst way, and in a hurry, and this match on Saturday at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace is a reasonable candidate for three points.
This English Premier League duel will go down Saturday, October 15, 2016, at 12:30 p.m. ET at Selhurst Park. The match will be televised live on NBC Sports Live Extra.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Crystal Palace +115
West Ham +250
Draw +245
Over/Under 2.5
Odds Analysis
Even though WMU definitely has a shot at three points, the Eagles are the ones who are the chalks in this afternoon affair. Crystal Palace is the +115 favorite at home and has generated over half of the moneyline bets on the day.
It's basically just beyond a 50/50 proposition that West Ham gets at least a result from this game.
The total of 2.5 features vig of -119 on the over.
Key Injuries
Andre Ayew has still only played in one match this year for West Ham even though he was only supposed to originally be out for a few weeks thanks to a thigh injury. Then again, Andy Carroll was supposed to be back by the start of October as well, and he has only played in one match thus far as well. Diafra Sakho has yet to play this year. These three men are crucial for West Ham and would be for any Premier League team, and the fact that none are available this weekend will be a big blow for sure for Bilic and his Hammers.
CP isn't in terrible shape right now in terms of injuries. Jonathan Benteke is out with a knee injury until the new year, while reserve Scott Dann probably won't be available for selection thanks to a hamstring injury. The big injury is to Loic Remy, a man who could really star for this club. He's out with a thigh injury and is still at least a few weeks away from returning to the lineup.
Recent Form
West Ham at least got a point from its last fixture before the international break against Middlesbrough, but no one will be happy with a point at home against a team that just got promoted. Then again, the last four EPL fixtures prior to that yielded no points, so at least this was a step in the right direction.
Palace meanwhile, has been in good form. Its last five matches in the league have resulted in at least something positive, including a strong 1-1 draw at Everton to wrap up September. The team's last home match was way back on September 18, a 4-1 win over Stoke City, so keep in mind that emotions should be running high at Selhurst Park.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
The Hammers just don't have a finisher right now in their arsenal, and they've got far too many holes at the back to be covered up. Ayew and Carroll really need to get back to health soon, because Simone Zaza isn't cutting it as a striker up top generally used by himself.
In fact, Bilic has even played a de facto 0-5-5 formation in recent weeks to try to stay a little more organized, and we might see him tinker around a little bit more as well now that he's had two weeks to try to protect his job.
That said, Selhurst Park has always been a tricky place to come play for visitors, and West Ham is going to find that out once again in another disappointing and empty fixture on Saturday.
English Premier League Odds: Crystal Palace 2, West Ham 0
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