Aston Villa vs. Crystal Palace Prediction, 7/12/20
Four consecutive defeats take 14th-placed Crystal Palace to a road contest against 19th-placed Aston Villa, who are desperate for wins during their current relegation battle. Kick-off - at 9:15 AM ET on Sunday, July 12.
Villa Extend Winless Streak
A third successive defeat came about for Aston Villa, who were beaten with a count of 3-0 by Manchester United at Villa Park on Thursday. The Villans started brightly, with Jack Grealish and Trezeguet both coming close to opening the score, only for the visitors to find the back of the net twice in the first half, including from the penalty spot, adding their third just before the hour mark. Aston Villa are winless in their past 10 Premier League contests (D2 L8), having failed to score a single marker in six of their last eight outings. The team is 19th in the EPL (W7 D6 L21), trailing safety by seven points, but with a game in hand.
English playmaker Grealish leads the Villans with seven league strikes but has gone without a goal for 11 straight EPL contests. Goalie Pepe Reina, meanwhile, sits 24th in the Premier League with 28 saves this year. He has recorded zero clean sheets in eight appearances during the ongoing campaign and concedes a goal every 40 minutes of play. Aston Villa has scored the 13th highest quantity of league snipes this season (36) while delivering the 10th highest number of shots per game (12). The team is 15th in ball possession (46.1%) and 12th in passing accuracy (77.2%).
Palace Lose Fourth In Row
Crystal Palace lost four consecutive Premier League fixtures for the first time since March 2018 after being edged out with a count of 3-2 by Chelsea at Selhurst Park on Tuesday. The visitors scored twice in the first half before Wilfried Zaha cut the 2-0 disadvantage in half in the 34th minute with a long-range effort, only for the Blues to add their third in the following frame ahead of Christian Benteke’s second snipe of the season. The Eagles had won four games in a row ahead of the current skid and are sitting 14th in the EPL standings (W11 D9 L14), completely safe from relegation.
Ghanaian forward Jordan Ayew tops Crystal Palace’s scoring chart with nine league goals, but has failed to find the back of the net in four consecutive games. Goalie Vicente Guaita, meanwhile, resides 8th in the Premier League with 96 saves. He has collected 10 clean sheets in 31 contests during the current campaign and allows a goal every 80 minutes on average. The Eagles are 2nd in the least EPL goals netted this season (30), 2nd in the least shots taken per game (9.8), and 14th in both ball possession (46.2%) and passing accuracy (76.2%).
Prediction
Despite losing their last four Premier League contests, Crystal Palace are safe from relegation and can finish the season with no pressure whatsoever. Aston Villa, on the other hand, are caught up in a completely different situation, finding themselves on the brink of relegation after earning just two points in their previous 10 league fixtures (D2 L8). After both Watford and West Ham United, two other teams battling for EPL survival won their respective contests on Saturday, the Villans simply have no other choice but to give their all in a must-win game. They have already gone unbeaten in their last two Premier League home matches versus the Eagles (W1 D1) and have looked robust enough lately to score at least one goal against a side, which has allowed 11 strikes in its past four contests. Interestingly, five of the last seven EPL meetings between the two sides have already finished with a count of 1-0.
Best bet:
Aston Villa to win (+130)
Correct score: 1-0 to Aston Villa (+625)