England Premier League
Saturday 26th December 2020
Kick off at 3pm GMT
Venue: Villa Park
Match Preview:
Aston Villa may end up being the team that no one sees as they have slipped down to 9th place and yet have gone their last 3 games unbeaten. Dean Smith’s side are on 22 points but they have 2 games in hand and if they were to win those a sudden slipping down the league side such as Villa would actually be in everyone’s faces and into 2nd. So the players have an awful lot to play for on Boxing Day and Villa can still make quite an impact this season.
Last weekend was one of Villa’s most important matches of the season, the Midlands derby, which they won 3-0 and were convincing too. So overall it has been a remarkable season for Villa so far when we consider how they struggled last season.
There is one worry though for Villa and that is their home form where they have lost 50% of their games and have no wins in their last four. Indeed their last victory at home was the 7-2 thrashing of Liverpool, such has been the strange events at play this season.
Talking of 7 goals, Crystal Palace conceded that amount against Liverpool last weekend in a total thrashing. To lose against Liverpool wouldn’t have bothered manager Roy Hodgson greatly but to lose like that and he may be worried about how his players will react for the forthcoming games ahead.
If this season is anything to go by Palace will bounce back, they have been very resilient after defeats and a lot of credit should go to the team this season. Before the Liverpool match Palace had gone their last 3 games unbeaten and away from home they have won 3 and lost 3 with one draw. The Eagles last away game ended in a 1-1 draw at West Ham.
Team News:
Aston Villa: Ross Barkely’s return keeps getting delayed and he will again be assessed ahead of this fixture. Ezri Konsa Ngoyo should be fine after missing the last two games through illness. Trezeguet has a long term hamstring injury.
Crystal Palace: Palace have no new injuries but will be missing Martin Kelly, Mamadou Sakho and Nathan Ferguson and they look set to miss the rest of the year now.
Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace Head to Head:
Last season Aston Villa won this fixture 2-0.
Crystal Palace last won here in 2013.
The last 3 league meetings have all ended in under 2.5 goals.
Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace Prediction:
Aston Villa can really have a run here if they win their next few games and they should keep that in mind. The worry for Palace is what type of effect did it have on the players conceding 7 goals in one game?
The two teams are really equal but Villa do have that extra quality going forward and in a player like Jack Grealish he could make a difference. Villa will be very confident returning home after their derby win and we will be backing the home side to win this match. Also back Grealish to score anytime for some value.
Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace Betting Tips:
Aston Villa to beat Crystal Palace at 1.91 (10/11)
Anytime goalscorer: Jack Grealish at 3.00 (2/1)
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