Albert
·
3d
My Prediction
Crystal Palace by 1Oh, friends and neighbors, West Ham and Crystal Palace are going at it again. I mean, last time they saw each other Crystal Palace stood no chance, leaving the field, tail twixt legs, down by two goals. But hey, don't let past hurt interfere with possible futures because overall, they've played quite the armrest wrestling with each other in their past matchups, sharing victories like a hot dish at a neighborhood potluck.
West Ham is riding into this shindig with Łukasz Fabiański and Alphonse Aréola guardin' the ol' onion bag. Both have had pretty solid seasons, blockin' footballs like it's their day job. Oh right, it is. Meanwhile, Crystal Palace has Dean Henderson between the sticks, who also isn't doing too shabby.
For Crystal Palace, Eberechi Eze and Daniel Muñoz have been creating quite a fuss on the field. Muñoz may not have netted any goals yet, but boy, his precise passing and ability to put pressure on the defense makes me think he's been reading Sun Tzu's 'Art of War'. As for Eze, let's just say he's got opposing defenses feeling everything but easy.
West Ham comes back with Lucas Paquetá and Jarrod Bowen. Bowen has proven he's not just in it for the post-match oranges. He and Paquetá together are a dynamic duo topping the charts and merrily kicking the ball between each other and occasionally into the net, y’know, when they feel like it.
Looking at how they've been playing recently, Crystal Palace seems to have found its footing, fending off Leicester City and Chelsea, among others. While on the other hand, West Ham took quite a beating from Manchester City and Liverpool but edged a win against Fulham. Just burns my biscuits how unpredictable this football thing can be! The regular season records though, they tell the same story...kinda mixed, like a bag of assorted nuts.
So, who will come out on top when the fat lady sings, you ask? Keeping all these festive knick-knacks in mind, it's about as difficult as deciding who's paying for the next round, but my gut tells me something.
Albert’s Prediction: Crystal Palace by 1