West Ham’s unbeaten streak continues after they managed to come back from behind and battle for a point in a 2-2 draw against Bournemouth last weekend.
This week’s opponents Crystal Palace are currently occupying ninth place in the league, only one point behind West Ham who are, for now, sitting in fifth.
This might come as a surprise to some, considering Palace have been deemed to be among the top relegation contenders.
But their good start hasn’t been a fluke, as one man has been pulling the strings, and we think that he will be the Eagles’ dangerman.
Wilfried Zaha
Zaha has been enjoying a good start to the season, relatively speaking when looking back at his previous campaign, but last weekend he looked much more lively as he managed to register an assist in Palace’s 2-0 win against Norwich City.
But in the absence of Luka Milivojevic, who is suspended after his fifth yellow card, the Ivorian will need to step his game up even further for Palace to even have a chance of competing against an in-form West Ham side.
Although Ryan Fredericks has the capabilities to deal with Zaha’s pace and agility, the same unfortunately cannot be said about Aaron Cresswell who often struggles against fast and direct wingers.
Unless Manuel Pellegrini decides to go back to his first-team choice from the start of the season that saw Arthur Masuaku start in the left-back role, this might be one area that Palace look to exploit.
