A lovely pass from Dimitri Payet, with the outside of his boot down the left wing, looks like setting Diafra Sakho through on goal until an assistant's flag annoys the West Ham striker and the home fans.

Not much to get excited about in terms of creating chances so far. Palace, with Bakary Sako playing as a lone striker as Emmanuel Adebayor is injured, are happy to sit back and look to hit West Ham on the counter-attack.

A whipped in cross from Aaron Cresswell just evades the head of Manuel Lanzini.

Image source, Reuters

December 19th is a memorable date for Palace fans, as their 2-1 win at Stoke was the last time they picked up three league points.

However, it has not been all doom and gloom for Eagles supporters since as wins over Southampton, Stoke, Tottenham and Reading have taken them to the FA Cup semi-finals and a Wembley date with Watford.

West Ham are dominating possession, but Palace have a half chance as Joe Ledley has a  low header but it is straight at Hammers goalkeeper Adrian. 

A lively start for the hosts. Manuel Lanzini, on the edge of the penalty area, drifts in a cross aiming for the back post but gets too much on to it and it drifts harmlessly out of play.

And we are off...

Of course, today Alan Pardew goes up against one of his former teams, although, admittedly, that does happen an awful lot to the well-travelled Palace boss.

Pardew was in charge at the Hammers from October 2003 to December 2006, and guided them to promotion into the Premier League with a play-off final win over Preston in May 2005.

The following season Pardew's West Ham reached the FA Cup final, but they were denied by Liverpool who won on penalties after a 3-3 draw. But the next campaign did not go well for the Hammers, who sacked Pardew in December 2006, with West Ham 18th in the table.

Actor Danny Dyer is among the crowds at Upton Park today in team colours.

Down to 16th in the table, only seven points above the relegation zone, without a league win in 13 games and Palace boss Alan Pardew is starting to get a bit twitchy.

"The teams below us are now going to hunt points and hunt us down and unfortunately, we are in a position to catch, so we have to really up our game," said Pardew.

"We're not sleepwalking, we're not day-dreaming, we are fully committed to getting the points as soon as we can.

"We have a challenge in front of us."

Image source, Getty Images

This may well be a masterstroke in mind games, but West Ham boss Slaven Bilic sounds a little bit nervous about today's match.

"Some players went to play international games and that is why this game against Crystal Palace is coming too soon," says Bilic.

"It is not ideal but we will have to get back immediately into the shape that we were before the international break. I'm not happy because we will not be all on the pitch, this game is worrying." 

Image source, AFP

Time to hear what the managers have been saying about this game. First up is West Ham's Slaven Bilic.

Mark Lawrenson
Former Liverpool defender on Football Focus

"Crystal Palace are in free-fall. They have had one or two injuries, but they have failed to manage games to get them over the line. And now they are in difficult circumstances. 

"I do think they will be safe, mind you. But they question is, when does this slump stop?"

This is how they stand at the moment in the Premier League. West Ham will move into the top four if they beat Crystal Palace and Manchester City drop points in their game against Bournemouth.

It is a Saturday, so that must mean Aston Villa lost again - and they did with a 4-0 home hammering by Chelsea.

This is how they stand at the bottom and Palace are far to close to that dotted line for their fans' nerves.

Image source, .

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As always we want your thoughts on today's action so get involved by tweeting us using the hashtag #bbcfootball.

Just the one change for West Ham from their 2-2 draw at Chelsea on 19 March as Emmanuel Emenike replaces Enner Valencia, who drops down to a bench that also includes Alex Song and Andy Carroll.

Image source, .

Two big absences for a Crystal Palace side that have not won a league match in 2016. Yohan Cabaye and Emmanuel Adebayor both picked up knocks on international duty and they are replaced by Jason Puncheon and Bakary Sako.     

Image source, .

Good afternoon, hope you're well. Thank you for joining us for our live text commentary from the Premier League match between West Ham and Crystal Palace.

Let's get straight down to business and bring you the team news.

Chasing Champions League football, still in the FA Cup and moving to a new 60,000-seat stadium in the summer - it's a great time to be a West Ham fan.

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace followers have a trip to Wembley to look forward to, but they are getting nervous about a shocking run in the Premier League that has seen them dragged into a survival battle.

Which team's supporters will be cheering later on today?

Image source, Getty Images