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Media Player Ratings- How did West Ham’s players fare against Crystal Palace?

December 9, 2018 By West Ham Blog Leave a Comment

Two delightful goals from Robert Snodgrass and Felipe Anderson and a well taken poachers’ effort from Javier Hernandez gave West Ham their third straight Premier League win as they beat Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace 3-2 at the London Stadium.

As they had done against Cardiff, the Hammers trailed at the interval, but blew away their opponents in a strong third quarter performance. Interestingly, they have also scored three goals in each of these three wins, triumphing 3-0, 3-1 and 3-2 respectively.

Manuel Pellegrini chose to restore his defence to full strength, with Fabian Balbuena and veteran Pablo Zabaleta both coming back into the XI after sitting out the Cardiff game. Lucas Perez’s impressive game off the bench against the Bluebirds earned him a starting spot in the absence of the injured Marko Arnautovic. [Read more…]

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9 Points & 9 Goals from 3 Games- Is this actually West Ham? Five Talking points from Crystal Palace game

December 8, 2018 By West Ham Blog Leave a Comment

Even though the pundits had West Ham as firm favourites against Crystal Palace, we, like many fans around us, were not sure of three points! Inconsistency has been such a hallmark of West Ham’s play in recent times- two wins from two games was fantastic, but three from three? Surely not! Palace had been so woeful against Brighton in midweek and were roundly criticised by fans and pundits alike. Roy Hodgson however named the same XI that had done duty against the Seagulls, and one thought they’d be up for this game, wanting to prove a point. Privately we thought a draw would be good enough, and at half time, after McArthur’s goal and Milivojevic hitting the bar with his free kick, most fans would’ve probably taken it. Instead, like they had done against Cardiff, West Ham blew away their opposition in the third quarter. We had suggested post the Cardiff game that Anderson and Snodgrass would be our most creative players in the absence of Arnautovic, and the duo scored fantastic goals that helped the Hammers win 3-2 in front of their biggest league crowd of the season.

Here are some talking points from the game today.

Did Andy Carroll have an impact?

Definitely yes. West Ham started with Lucas Perez and Chicharito upfront, and that combo didn’t seem to offer much on attack together, especially when the Hammers’ first half strategy was to put in cross after cross to Palace’s imposing central defensive pair of Tomkins and Sakho.

Carroll’s introduction allowed West Ham an aerial presence. Even though he didn’t do much with the ball, he always attracted defenders, which provided extra space for the likes of Anderson and Chicharito to operate. The free kick from which West Ham scored their second goal was earned by Carroll. [Read more…]

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West Ham v Crystal Palace | Pre-match Pundit Predictions for the Hammers against Roy Hodgson’s men

December 8, 2018 By West Ham Blog Leave a Comment

West Ham take on Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace this weekend as they attempt to make it three consecutive league wins following victories away at Newcastle and at home against Cardiff. The fixture is a battle between two of the most well travelled gaffers in the Premier League, with Manuel Pellegrini and Hodgson having managed in fourteen different countries between them.

The referee for this game is Anthony Taylor- Palace are winless in their last seven games under him. He’s already refereed two of their games this season- the 2-1 loss away at Watford in GW3 and the 2-0 loss at Goodison Park to Everton in GW9.

Palace were very poor against ten man Brighton in midweek, and key players like Wilfried Zaha and James McArthur were scathing in their criticism of the performance, with the former calling it “nowhere near good enough” and the latter describing it as “unacceptable”. The Eagles will be looking to prove a point, but given their dreadful away record, not many fans will be optimistic of their chances at the London Stadium.

West Ham of course will be without Marko Arnautovic, Jack Wilshere and Aaron Cresswell. Fabian Balbuena is however expected to return in the heart of defence to take his place alongside Issa Diop. [Read more…]

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No Wilshere for Palace game, Arnautovic potentially out for a month, says Pellegrini

December 6, 2018 By West Ham Blog 1 Comment

West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini has confirmed that Jack Wilshere will not be considered for this weekend’s home game against Crystal Palace. The midfielder made his return in their 3-0 win over Newcastle last weekend and even set up Felipe Anderson for a late goal, but was not in the squad for the midweek game against Cardiff. Pellegrini later said that it was an issue with his other ankle, and today confirmed in his pre-game presser that the 26 year old will “not be risked” on Saturday against Palace.

Pellegrini also added that Marko Arnautovic would be out for around a month with the hamstring injury he picked up against Cardiff. The Austrian limped off the field at the London Stadium just minutes after conceding a penalty for a silly foul on Junior Hoilett. Fortunately for the Hammers, Joe Ralls’ poor spot kick was saved by goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski- a pivotal moment in the game. [Read more…]

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Media Player Ratings- How did West Ham’s players fare against Cardiff?

December 5, 2018 By West Ham Blog 1 Comment

West Ham claimed back to back Premier League wins for the first time in nearly two years as they beat Cardiff City 3-1 at the London Stadium. It was the Hammers’ seventh straight win over the Bluebirds in all competitions and was secured thanks to a brace from substitute Lucas Perez, who became the first West Ham player to do so off the bench since Paulo Wanchope against Newcastle back in April 2000. [Read more…]

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