Crystal Palace host Aston Villa on Sunday, and Jake Pearson has previewed the match, picking out a best bet and score prediction.
Football betting tips: Crystal Palace v Aston Villa
1pt Both Teams To Score ‘No’ at 6/5 (BetVictor)
Despite comfortably beating Sheffield United 2-0 at Bramall Lane last week, it would be fair to say that Crystal Palace come into this game a little out of sorts, that victory over the Blades being their only win in their last six, losing four of those fixtures.
In fact, their only other recent victory came against West Brom, meaning that in their last 10 matches, Crystal Palace have managed just two wins, against the Premier League’s bottom two clubs.
Indeed, Crystal Palace have failed to win a single match against any side currently in the top half of the Premier League this season, including a 3-1 defeat to Southampton last time out, and it is these kind of results that have had Eagles fans calling for an end to Hodgson’s time with the club.
Frank Lampard is one potential suitor for the role, but as Frank de Boer in particular demonstrated, you do need to be careful what you wish for.
Aston Villa arrive at Selhurst Park on the back of a 0-0 draw at home to Everton, a game in which neither team created any real chances.
Jack Grealish came off the bench late on in that game to make his first Premier League appearance since February, and he could be in line to start against Crystal Palace, which would be a huge boost for Villa.
There has been a lot made of Villa without Greaslish, but in truth, any team would miss a player of his quality, and a quick glance at their recent fixtures shows they have had a far from easy run-in of late.
In their last six matches Villa have faced off against the likes of Everton (twice), Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool, so a trip to Crystal Palace, who have nothing to play for, may come as a welcome break for Dean Smith’s side.
As well as the return of their captain, Villa will also welcome back top-scorer Ollie Watkins, who had to sit out the Everton match due to the late red card he picked up against Manchester United.
Palace could struggle to score
Prior to their recent stalemate with Everton, Villa had found the net in each of their previous six Premier League matches, while only Newcastle and West Brom have conceded more home goals than Crystal Palace this season, with Hodgson’s men also holding the fourth-worst clean sheet record in the division.
With Watkins and Grealish both back in the fray, it is difficult to see Villa not scoring, but Smith’s side have been solid defensively this term, keeping the third most clean sheets in the league, whilst also boasting the third-highest win-to-nil ratio in the Premier League.
Only four sides have failed to score on more occasions than Crystal Palace this season, and for this reason, an odds-against price of 6/5 about BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE ‘NO’ makes plenty of appeal.
Crystal Palace v Aston Villa best bets and score prediction
- 1pt Both Teams To Score ‘No’ at 6/5 (BetVictor)
Score prediction: Crystal Palace 0-2 Aston Villa (Sky Bet odds: 10/1)
Odds correct at 2100 BST (13/05/21)
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