England Premier League
Saturday 4th March 2023
Kick off at 3pm GMT
Venue: Villa Park
Match Preview:
Here we have two sides who will be safe this season although Crystal Palace will just want a few more points under their belts this month to breathe easier. Aston Villa surged forward onto the 30 point marker last weekend as they beat Everton 2-0 away from home, and that was impressive and needed for Unai Emery’s side. Needed because the Villains had lost 3 games in a row and the win over Everton reinstated the belief that Emery was the right man to come in for the Villa job. As a result of the clubs 9th win of the season they have climbed up to 11th place.
Villa have not been convincing at home so far with 5 wins but also 5 defeats and it’s almost two months since home fans witnessed a victory following defeats against Leicester and Arsenal. Emery’s side could go past Chelsea with victory here if the Blues fail to beat Leeds at the same time.
Crystal Palace have drawn 4 of their last five games including three in a row and their last result was a 0-0 at home to Liverpool. A win for the Eagles and they would bridge the gap to Villa and go just a point behind them. On the road Patrick Vieira’s side have only picked up 10 points from a possible 33 with just one win in their last five coming back on New Year’s Eve, so they are overdue a win. However they have only managed 9 goals so far on the road.
It has been a tough moment for Palace though who have seen some key players lose form but they have also been without main forward and goalscorer Wilfried Zaha, so they have been riding the storm with draws which of course is better than defeats and they will be hoping that Zaha can return soon enough, as they have obviously been missing his services.
Team News:
Aston Villa: Philippe Coutinho is out for at least a month with a hamstring injury. Diego Carlos is back in training after a long lay off and isn’t expected to return for this game.
Crystal Palace: Nathan Ferguson remains a major doubt with a lack of match fitness, Wilfried Zaha will be assessed due to fitness issues after recovering from injury.
Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace Head to Head:
The teams drew 1-1 in last season’s fixture.
Earlier in the season in the reverse fixture Crystal Palace won 3-1.
It’s been almost 10 years since Crystal Palace beat Aston Villa away from home.
The last 4 meetings in a row has seen both teams to score.
Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace Prediction:
We will back Aston Villa to win this game though it should be a very close one. Villa not only has a good and solid record over Palace when at home in the past decade, the win over Everton could be the catalyst to find the same kind of run and form that they had when Emery first was in charge. A win here is huge too because even though it is almost certain Villa will be fine to have 34 points at this stage of the season is to suggest they really would be safe. It’s been a bit overdue a win at home and Palace simply haven’t been convincing enough on the road.
Of course Zaha could be back for the Eagles but if he is he may just be a little rusty as he settles back into the side and that has been the underlining problem for the club that they haven’t scored enough goals on the road. However we will back to see both teams to score as that has a good recent win rate of coming in, overall there is a lot of value in this game and it is a good open market to dive into.
Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace Betting Tips:
Aston Villa to beat Crystal Palace at 2.10
Anytime goalscorer: Ollie Watkins at 2.75
Both teams to score at 1.91
Correct Score: Aston Villa to win 2-1 or 3-1 at 10.00 and 19.00
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