Credit: Imago
Sat 18 April 2026 7:10, UK
El Hadji Malick Diouf features in my combined West Ham United and Crystal Palace XI ahead of Monday night’s big London derby clash.
Still bouncing after the big 4-0 win over Wolves last time out, Nuno Espirito Santo‘s side make the short trip over to Selhurst Park on Monday evening for an 8pm kick-off against Crystal Palace.
The Hammers know three points there would see them take a huge step towards safety, and perhaps ease the pressure somewhat going into a tough run-in of games.
Everton, Brentford, Arsenal, Newcastle and Leeds all remain on the Irons’ agenda after they’re done with the Eagles, as Nuno desperately tries to keep his team in the top flight.
So, ahead of Monday’s big game, I’ve pieced together a combined West Ham and Crystal Palace XI, with inclusions based on what they’ve done for their respective team this season.
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El Hadji Malick Diouf in combined West Ham/Crystal Palace XI
We’ll go through each segment via defence, midfield and attack, and let’s start by taking a look at my defence.
In goal, I’ve sided with England international Dean Henderson, as Mads Hermansen hasn’t provided a large enough sample size yet, and he’s won the starting job over Alphonse Areola, so I can’t go with him either.
Diouf’s 25-26 PL statsResultTeam of the week1Assists5Big chances created4Errors leading to goals0Aerial duels won55%Per Sofascore
Left-back was a tough call between Diouf and Tyrick Mitchell, with the Palace star one of the more underrated left-backs/wing-backs in the league this season for me, but I’ve settled on the former.
Diouf has been excellent for West Ham this term, producing five assists from 26 league outings, and at only 21, he’s bound to keep improving and developing into a real top defender in the coming years.
At right-back, Palace’s Daniel Munoz gets the nod over Kyle Walker-Peters and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, with the 29-year-old Colombian international recording three goals and two assists from 22 league games in 2025-26.
As for the two centre-backs, Maxence Lacroix has been brilliant for Palace once again this term and was a player I couldn’t snub, and alongside him, I’ve gone with Konstantinos Mavropanos.
Credit: Breaking Media
Both Chris Richards and Jaydee Canvot have also been impressive for the Eagles this year, but the Hammers’ big Greek has been a rock this term, and just edges in for me.
West Ham stars dominate combined Crystal Palace midfield
Moving into the heart of this combined XI, the midfield spots pretty much picked themselves for me.
My central midfield pair is a little big outrageous, with Adam Wharton and Mateus Fernandes combining to form an engine room that would be the envy of many teams.
Flanking them, on the right side I’ve gone with Brennan Jo-, no, I haven’t. Calm down. It’s obviously Jarrod Bowen.
Credit: Breaking Media
The 29-year-old is one of the most underrated players across the board in the Premier League, and if it was up to me, he’d be starting for England at the World Cup this summer.
Looking across to the left, it’s another claret and blue selection making the team, as I’ve paired Bowen up with the ever-improving, Crysencio Summerville.
Evann Guessand and Yeremi Pino were Palace’s main contenders here, but Summerville’s five goals and one assist from 25 Premier League games have seen him outproduce both, and he’s taken a big leap in his sophomore season at the London Stadium.
Rounding off the midfield we’ve got the number 10 spot, with Pablo being West Ham’s main contender here given we’ve already included Fernandes.
Therefore, the obvious choice to fill this position is Palace’s Ismaila Sarr, who has bagged 17 goals in 35 total appearances this season, and has undoubtedly been one of the Eagles’ players of the season.
Crystal Palace star takes starting striker spot
Not a bad team at all so far, now all that’s left to do is put the cherry on top with the starting centre-forward.
Unfortunately, West Ham don’t really have a strong hand to play here, as Taty Castellanos, Pablo and Callum Wilson respectively, have either had little impact over the course of the full season, or only have a small sample size to go off.
Credit; Breaking Media
However, that’s not the case with Crystal Palace, as their two main centre-forwards in Jorgen Strand Larsen and Jean-Philippe Mateta are ahead of any Hammers striker when it comes to making this team.
Therefore, between these two, I’ve gone with Mateta, as the big Frenchman has bagged 10 league goals in 25 games this season, whereas as Strand Larsen has netted only four times in 29 respectively.
Full combined West Ham/Crystal Palace XI: GK Henderson, RB Munoz, LB Diouf, CB’s Lacroix, Mavropanos; LW Summerville, RW Bowen, CM’s Fernandes, Wharton, CAM Sarr; ST Mateta