Alan Pardew says he is well aware of West Ham United's ability to hit opposition teams on the break.

As Pardew prepares his Crystal Palace side for the visit of the Hammers on Saturday, the Eagles boss knows that you cannot give too much space to Slaven Bilic's men when they regain possession of the ball in their own defensive half.

Pardew highlighted the need to keep hold of the ball for long periods in order to increase their footing in the game rather than run the risk of West Ham firing back quickly on the counter-attack.

"They're very good on the counter," Pardew said of West Ham.

"I expect us to get a grasp of the game like we did against West Brom and dictate proceedings but that's not going to stop West Ham from winning the game.

"We need to be organised in our possession otherwise they will counter us really quickly and we'll find ourselves in the game.

"West Ham have a bigger and stronger squad than us. But if we can stay clear of injuries and keep this group together, we can compete with them and that's what we've got to hope to do."