Sam Allardyce will enjoy facing his former club when Crystal Palace take on West Ham United on Saturday, according to Mark Noble.

Saturday’s clash will be Allardyce’s first visit to London Stadium and he will hope to pick up three much-needed points to boost Palace’s survival hopes.

The former England manager helped West Ham gain promotion to the Premier League in 2012 and Noble feels he deserves credit for what he achieved at the club.

Noble told the club website: “We have played against Sam before. Football moves on so fast and Sam will enjoy coming back.

“He had a great time here as manager. What he did for this football club, getting us promoted and helping stay in the Premier League, he should be well respected.”

Noble will have no time for niceties with his one-time boss on Saturday, as the Hammers look to bounce back from a chastening 5-0 loss in the FA Cup to Manchester City.

Their last league outing also ended in defeat to a Manchester club as Jose Mourinho’s United left London Stadium with a 2-0 win against a 10-man Hammers.

Noble will be hoping West Ham reproduce the fight shown against United rather than the display which saw them insipidly surrender against City.

“We had to play against Manchester United with 10 men and had to come out and play again and I think it was a bit much for us,” he said.

“We had a tough game on Monday night and the boys tried to dig in to try and get a result against a very good Manchester United side.

“We tried to do the same again on Friday night but when we went 1-0 down it was uphill for us.”

A productive festive period, in which the Hammers took 10 points from four games in December, has helped Slaven Bilic’s side climb away from danger to 13th position.

They remain just seven points clear of the drop zone, however, and would desperately like to get the better of one of their immediate relegation rivals.

Their form this season has been in stark contrast to the 2015/16 campaign which saw West Ham qualify for the Europa League.

Noble insists fluctuation in form is part and parcel of Premier League football, but acknowledged that results will always be the be all and end all of success.

“Every season is different. Chelsea came 10th last season and have just won 13 games in a row,” he explained.

“I did say a couple of weeks ago there is no point playing well and losing games. In this day and age with the pressure involved all that matters is the three points.”