West Ham United are gearing up for a high-stakes Premier League fixture this weekend as they host Crystal Palace in what would already be their third London derby game of the season.
We’re only four games into the season, but Graham Potter is already feeling the pressure in the West Ham dugout after a miserable start to the season.
The English manager has picked up just three points in the opening four games of the season.
He has suffered three defeats in the process, each of them by more than three goals (3-0 vs Sunderland, 5-1 vs Chelsea, and 3-0 vs Tottenham Hotspur).
Two of those heavy defeats have come in London derbies, but Potter can’t afford for there to be a third.
The jury has been out on the former Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea head coach since he joined West Ham, but the axe could fall sooner than later if things don’t go his way against Palace.
Patience is beginning to wear thin among West Ham supporters. They’ve seen this movie before and have started questioning whether Potter is the right man to steer the club forward.
Another slip-up, especially in front of the home supporters, could push the board to act. That makes the game against Palace an ominous one and for more than one reason.
West Ham’s record against Palace hardly inspires confidence. They have won just one of their last six meetings with the Eagles (D1, L4).
Their form against Palace on home turf also makes for grim reading.
You’d have to go back to December 2018 for the last time West Ham beat Palace on home soil, picking up just three points across six games (D3, L3) in that spell.
At the moment, Palace are enjoying a fantastic start to the season and are one of only three teams yet to suffer defeat in the Premier League, along with Chelsea and Liverpool.
The FA Cup holders are also on an impressive run of form under Oliver Glasner, going 10 games unbeaten in the top flight for the first time since their run of 12 in October 1990.