When and where?
West Ham United v Crystal Palace
Premier League
Saturday 15 October 2016, 5.30pm
Selhurst Park
What’s the story?
The long wait for the return of Premier League football comes to an end on Saturday when the Hammers make the short journey south of the River Thames to take on Crystal Palace.
After an international break in which the likes of Dimitri Payet, Darren Randolph, Winston Reid, Sofiane Feghouli and Cheikhou Kouyate all turned out for their countries, the focus returns to club football with Slaven Bilic keen to return to winning ways.
The opening two months of the new Premier League season have not gone to plan for West Ham, with one win and one draw from their opening seven games leaving them 18th in the early league table.
A draw with Middlesbrough last time out, in which Dimitri Payet scored an outrageous solo goal, arrested a run of four defeats in the league and Bilic will be hoping that signals an upturn in fortunes.
Crystal Palace have enjoyed a better start, with eleven points from their opening seven games – although only four of them have been gained at home.
At Selhurst Park, they came up short against West Bromwich Albion in their season opener, but have recovered to draw 1-1 with AFC Bournemouth and comfortably defeat Stoke City 4-1.
They drew 1-1 at Everton last time out and possess a striker who has three goals to his name already this term in Christian Benteke.
Team news
The Hammers welcome Aaron Cresswell back into the fold following a three-month absence with a knee injury and he is expected to be in the matchday squad after returning to full training recently.
Elswehere, Havard Nordtveit and Jonathan Calleri are fit again, but Sam Byram (hamstring) and Gokhan Tore (quadriceps) are both injured.
Andy Carroll, Andre Ayew and Arthur Masuaku continue their recoveries from injury.
For Crystal Palace captain and centre back Scott Dann is missing with a hamstring injury.
Pape Soure and Loic Remy are long-term absentees and will not be available for Saturday’s fixture.
Player head-to-head
Any links between the two?
Mark Noble admits Saturday’s game will be a strange one for him as he lines up against friend and long-time teammate James Tomkins for the first time.
Tomkins needs no introduction to Hammers fans, having come through the ranks at the Boleyn Ground and played 243 games for the Club.
Palace manager Alan Pardew is also a familiar face for the Hammers, having managed the Club between 2003-06, winning promotion in the 2004/05 campaign and leading West Ham to the FA Cup final the following year.
How do I get to the game?
Click here for directions of how to get to Selhurst Park. The latest news on the roads and TfL train and Underground services can be found here and National Rail services here.
How can I watch the game?
The game is being shown live in the UK on BT Sport. See below for details of international coverage.
