West Ham United v Crystal Palace
Premier League, London Stadium, Sunday 3 December 2023, 2pm GMT
A first match of a busy December schedule sees West Ham United face fellow Londoners Crystal Palace in Premier League action.
Having beaten Burnley last weekend in league action and seen off FK TSC Bačka Topola in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday, a packed fixture list continues on Sunday against the Eagles.
The Hammers sit ninth in the Premier League with 20 points from 13 matches played so far while Palace have collected 15 points from the same number of matches played.
Tickets…
Tickets for this sold out game are still available on the Ticket Exchange, with Season Ticket Holders who cannot attend this fixture relisting their seats for other supporters to buy. Click here to check availability or relist.
Travel…
The TFL Central and Jubilee line are expected to operate with a good service on Sunday.
The Elizabeth Line will be operating with a reduced service between between Paddington and Maidenhead, while the Acton Main Line, West Ealing and Hanwell stations will be closed.
Docklands Light Railway will be partially closed on Sunday between Poplar and Stratford International, and Beckton and Woolwich Arsenal. Supporters are suggested to use the Jubilee line between Stratford, West Ham and Canning Town, while replacement buses will also be in operation.
There are also several closures and reduced services across the London Overground and fans anticipating utilising this service to attend Sunday's match are advised to check their travel plans before departure.
On C2C trains, there is planned industrial action that will result in an severely reduced service available. Planned enigeering works also mean a portion of the Basildon line - between Barking and Liverpool Street - will not be running as normal either. These services will be diverted to Fenchurch Street and will call additionally at West Ham, but will not call at Stratford.
On the Greater Anglia Railway, the mainline will be closed between Chelmsford and Witham all weekend due to construction work for the new Beaulieu Park station.
Train services from Norwich, Ipswich, Clacton, Colchester and Braintree will terminate at Witham, connecting into rail replacement bus routes. Connecting train services will operate between Chelmsford and London Liverpool Street via Ingatestone, also serving Shenfield and Stratford.
A full service is expected to run on Southeastern Railway.
How To Follow…
West Ham United’s home Premier League match with Crystal Palace has been selected for broadcast in the United Kingdom by Sky Sports, with coverage starting at 1pm GMT.
You can follow the action via our live blog on whufc.com and our app and across our social media channels. We will also have highlights and exclusive reaction for you after the final whistle on our website and social media.
Live audio commentary will be available in the UK on BBC Radio London and worldwide on our official website and app.
Official Programme…
You can order your edition of the Official Programme for West Ham United v Crystal Palace now here!
Sunday's issue for our Premier League fixture with Roy Hodgson's Eagles features an in-depth interview and analysis of European trophy collecting left-back Emerson Palmieri, features with Vladimír Coufal and Saïd Benrahma and an interview with former Hammers and Palace defender Danny Gabbidon.
We are also celebrating the Club's official charity partner Ambition Aspire Achieve and the opening of the Hammers Pride House in Hackney Wick as part of the Premier League and Stonewall's Rainbow Laces campaign for LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport.
We pay tribute to former Palace and England manager Terry Venables. With interviews with Academy prospects Joshua Ajala and Patrick Kelly and women's team manager Rehanne Skinner, plus history, puzzles, statistics and the lowdown on our visitors from the Selhurst Park, the Official Programme is packed full of content for you!
Team News
Michail Antonio is continuing his progression from an injury sustained on international duty with Jamaica in mid-November.
Jarrod Bowen, meanwhile. was absent from the squad away at FK TSC on Thursday, as was Edson Álvarez, Vladimír Coufal and Mohammed Kudus.
Palace, meanwhile, will be without midfielder Cheick Doucoure after he was stretchered off in the Eagles’ defeat at Luton Town last weekend. The visitors to London Stadium will also check on Eberechi Eze, who was substituted with an injury in that match too.
Goalkeeper Dean Henderson has also been dealing with a hip injury.
Former Hammer James Tomkins is believed to be nearing a return, however, after an absence.
Opposition
Only eight clubs have been in the Premier League longer than Crystal Palace.
However, since the Eagles flew into the top-flight via the Play-Offs in 2013, they have finished in the top half just once and are yet to reach 50 points in a single season.
One of the Premier League’s longest-serving clubs is seeking to turn consistency into a first piece of silverware in 32 years.
While the capital’s clubs situated north of the River Thames have lifted trophies and challenged for titles regularly over the past decade, south London’s sole representative went into their eleventh consecutive Premier League campaign seeking their first piece of silverware since lifting the short-lived Full Members Cup in 1991.
With just Premier League survival and the FA Cup left to play for this season, Crystal Palace’s long wait for success looks likely to go on.
But, while they may not be opening the trophy cabinet again come next May, that is not to say today’s visitors are not thriving.
Remember, this is a club which, as recently as early 2010, received a ten-point deduction for entering administration and avoided relegation to EFL League One on the final day of the season.
A consortium led by fans Steve Parish, Stephen Browett, Martin Long and Jeremy Hoskin saved and then stabilised the club, before Ian Holloway and Wilfried Zaha inspired an unlikely promotion to the Premier League a little over a decade ago.
Plenty of managers have come and gone since Holloway, with the current incumbent being a man Palace fans, and English football supporters as a whole, know very well indeed – Roy Hodgson.
There was much excitement when Patrick Vieira replaced Hodgson in summer 2021, and that only grew as the former France midfielder led the Eagles to 12th-place and the FA Cup semi-finals.
However, a 12-match winless run saw Vieira replaced in March 2023, with the 76-year-old Hodgson being reappointed with the remit to steady things. He did just that, losing just two of ten Premier League matches to lead Palace to eleventh come the season’s end. The Eagles had stayed up, again.
With Hodgson confirmed to remain in post until the end of this season at least, Palace will be looking for a continuation of that consistency.
Previous Meetings
All of West Ham and Crystal Palace’s last 20 meetings have come in the Premier League, ever since the Irons’ return to the top-flight via the Play-offs in the 2011/12 season.
The Eagles actually boast a good run of form when visiting east London. They claimed a 2-1 win over David Moyes’ Hammers prior to the 2022 FIFA World Cup last November and, from the last ten matches played across the Boleyn Ground and London Stadium, have claimed four wins and four draws.
The last home win against Palace for the Irons came in December 2018 when Robert Snodgrass, Chicharito and Felipe Anderson netted in a frantic 3-2 win.
Match Officials
Referee: Michael Oliver
Assistant Referees: Stuart Burt & Dan Cook
Fourth Official: Darren Bond
VAR: Peter Bankes
Assistant VAR: Constantine Hatzidakis
Michael Oliver has been named the referee for Sunday’s Premier League match against Crystal Palace at London Stadium.
Born in Ashington, Northumberland, Oliver introduced to refereeing by his father, Clive, at the age of 14 and became the youngest referee to officiate at Wembley Stadium when he refereed the 2007 Conference National play-off final. He had already become the youngest Football League assistant referee, youngest Football League referee, and would also become the youngest fourth official in the Premier League.
Oliver has refereed two FA Cup finals, the 2018 final between Chelsea and Manchester United and 2021 final between Chelsea and Leicester City, and also took charge of Liverpool and Manchester City's meeting in the Carabao Cup final in 2016 as well as the 2014 Community Shield between Manchester City and Arsenal.
Oliver, who also refereed three matches at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, is taking charge of his first West Ham United match of the season. His last was the 2-0 loss away to Brentford in May 2023.
You can find out more about Sunday’s match officials here!
