After picking up three consecutive wins against Burnley, Hull City and Swansea City in December, West Ham supporters would have hoped that their side had turned a corner following a disappointing start to the season.

However, they have followed up those three straight victories with three losses on the bounce, scoring no goals in the process.

A crushing 5-0 defeat against Manchester City at the London Stadium in the third round of the FA Cup last week was preceded by 2-0 and 1-0 Premier League reverses against Manchester United and Leicester City respectively.

With key midfielder Dimitri Payet reportedly saying that he doesn't want to play for the club, Slaven Bilic will need some of his other key players to raise their game when the Irons host 17th-placed Crystal Palace - and former manager Sam Allardyce - on Saturday as the Hammers look to get back to winning ways.

Here are THREE West Ham players that must step up vs Crystal Palace...

Winston Reid

The New Zealand international has been a talismanic player for West Ham ever since he joined them in 2010, and he needs to put in a big performance against the Eagles this weekend following some poor defensive displays by the Irons in recent matches.

The Hammers backline suffered a blow when Cheikhou Kouyate jetted off to the African Cup of Nations with Senegal, which has left a gap in Slaven Bilic's three-man defence. Reid must be the leader at the heart of the defence and deal with the physical threat of Palace striker Christian Benteke.

Michail Antonio

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With the Hammers' strikers failing to fire this season, Antonio is the club's top goalscorer in the Premier League with eight goals and has often shown that he can be a match-winner at this level.

After failing to net in their last three matches across all competitions, Slaven Bilic will be looking for his winger to provide a goal threat when Crystal Palace visit the London Stadium - making those runs to the back post that have proved so successful this term.

Andy Carroll

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As we mentioned previously, West Ham have struggled for goals from their strikers this season, and they need a big performance from Carroll against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

The 28-year-old has scored two goals since returning from a knee injury that kept him on the sidelined for multiple months, the second of those coming in the Irons' last win - a 4-1 triumph against Swansea on Boxing Day.

In what is sure to be a physical battle against Eagles centre-back Scott Dann, Slaven Bilic will be looking for his talisman to hold the ball up and come out on top.