Will Leeds continue their upward trend in the capital?

For a long time, Leeds United had to worry about staying in the English Premier League. In the meantime, the Whites are well on the way to securing their place in the league. Because they have picked up ten points from the last four games, they have been able to extend their lead over the first relegation place to five points. The next important step will be taken on Monday evening.

For the conclusion of the 34th matchday, the team of former Leipzig coach Jesse Marsch has to play in the capital. Ahead of the Crystal Palace v Leeds encounter, lower odds are being offered on the home win and that’s despite the Eagles failing to convince compellingly of late. As well as the painful FA Cup semi-final exit against Chelsea, they have also lost their two most recent league games.

Although the Londoners are unbeaten in five home games against their upcoming opponents, a prediction of a home victory in the Crystal Palace vs Leeds clash seems far from certain. Quite the opposite.

If the visitors can build on their recent performances and also benefit from the fact that the hosts are a bit out of steam in the table, we would not categorically rule out a surprise three-goal win for the basement team – even if the probability of an away win is only rated at a meagre 27%.

Crystal Palace – Statistics & current form

If you are an advocate of aesthetic attacking football, Crystal Palace matches are not always to your liking. Coach Patrick Vieira, who was one of the best tacklers in his field as a professional and often brought a defensive touch to his central midfield position, puts a lot of focus on compact work against the ball for his Eagles. In the bottom half of the table, only Brighton have conceded fewer goals.

Despite the good defence, however, the team from London has been able to reward itself far too rarely. Only eight wins have been recorded so far this season. Instead, the capital club drew 13 times, but only lost eleven.

The Eagles have recently lost three in a row

Two of those eleven defeats came in the last two matchdays. At Leicester City (1:2) and at Newcastle (0:1) Crystal Palace went away empty-handed. They also lost to Chelsea in the cup at Wembley Stadium. At home, however, they are unbeaten in three games. In total, however, they have only scored five goals in their last five games at home. This is one of the reasons why we would be cautious about betting on the home side between Crystal Palace and Leeds on Monday night. In our opinion, the lower odds on the Eagles do not offer any value.

The fun fact that Vieira’s side have yet to lose in their four Monday night games this season does not change this. Nevertheless, it has to be said that they have not won two consecutive home games in the Premier League since March 2020. According to the law of the series, the 3-0 win over Arsenal is not actually followed by another treble…

Apart from Nathan Ferguson, who will definitely be absent, coach Vieira will probably also have to do without Olise and Milivojevic. On the offensive side, it should once again be Wilfried Zaha who could score in three home games in a row for the Eagles for the first time since May 2018.

Predicted Crystal Palace line-up:
Guaita – Mitchell, Guehi, Andersen, Clyne – Schlupp, Kouyaté, Gallagher – Zaha, Mateta, Ayew

Last matches played by Crystal Palace:

Premier League
21/04/2022 – Newcastle United 1 – 0 Crystal Palace

FA Cup
17/04/2022 – Chelsea FC 2 – 0 Crystal Palace

Premier League
10/04/2022 – Leicester 2 – 1 Crystal Palace

05/04/2022 – Crystal Palace 3 – 0 Arsenal FC

FA Cup
20/03/2022 – Crystal Palace 4 – 0 Everton

Leeds – Statistics & current form

Jesse Marsch failed to make a splash in the Bundesliga. In his short tenure as coach of RB Leipzig, the US American averaged just 1.25 points. The former RB Salzburg coach had to resign after only 20 games. With a tear in his eye, Marsch will be looking back to the central city, where things are going really well under Domenico Tedesco at the moment.

But Jesse Marsch also seems to have found his coaching luck again in the meantime. After two defeats in his first two games in charge of Leeds United, the form curve of his new team has clearly been pointing in the right direction recently. They have picked up an impressive ten points from their four most recent Premier League matches. The Whites celebrated victories against Norwich, Wolverhampton and Watford; against Hasenhüttl’s Southampton, it was enough for a 1-1 draw.

Leeds score with current form

Thanks to this unexpected unbeaten streak, the lead over the first relegation place has increased to five points. However, the fear of an imminent slide into the second division is still present, so the Peacocks would be well advised to continue to keep the tension high and get results.

That they can do so at Selhurst Park on Monday night seems far from unlikely, with the aforementioned Jesse Marsch leading his personal coaching record against Patrick Vieira with five wins to three defeats and one draw. All nine meetings took place in the American Major League Soccer. Of course, this statistic is only a marginal aspect when it comes to predicting the outcome of the match between Crystal Palace and Leeds.

More interesting is the fact that for the first time since 2008, the Whites could win two consecutive games in the capital. The momentum is on their side, the self-confidence is there and the individual quality has hardly diminished compared to last year. So why not try a bet on the away win on Monday night? Bamford, Roberts and Forshaw are definitely missing. Question marks are behind the call-ups of Shackleton and Junior Firpo.

Projected Leeds line-up:
Meslier – Dallas, Cooper, Llorente, Ayling – Klich, Phillips – Harrison, Rodrigo, Raphinha – James

Last matches played by Leeds:

Premier League
09/04/2022 – Watford 0 – 3 Leeds

02/04/2022 – Leeds 1 – 1 Southampton

19/03/2022 – Wolverhampton 2 – 3 Leeds

13/03/2022 – Leeds 2 – 1 Norwich

11/03/2022 – Leeds 0 – 3 Aston Villa

Crystal Palace – Leeds Direct Comparison / H2H Record

25 matches have been played between the two clubs in England’s top flight so far. Leeds United have come out on top twelve times, while Crystal Palace have won six matches. Four of those six victories have come in the Eagles’ last five home games. However, the last two head-to-head meetings have ended in victories for the Whites, both of which came in front of a home crowd. In the first leg, it was 1-0 to the Peacocks after 90 intense minutes, with Marcelo Bielsa still on the bench or on his water box at the time.

Crystal Palace – Leeds Tip

The 34th matchday in the English Premier League will be concluded on Monday evening with the clash between Crystal Palace and Leeds United. Everton FC and Burnley in particular will be looking to the capital with interest, as Leeds, currently 16th in the standings, are also still fearful of staying in the league. With a five-point lead over the Clarets, however, the Marsch team currently has the best starting position.

Apart from that, the current form of the Whites also provides a clear argument in favour of the visitors, who have picked up ten points from their last four games and are therefore, in our eyes, unfairly placed in the underdog role. Consequently, between Crystal Palace and Leeds, we also think the betting odds on the away win are far more interesting.

The Eagles have suffered three defeats in a row, seen their dream of reaching the FA Cup final shattered, and are at a stage of the season where there is not much left to play for. As they have only won five of their last 16 home games, we do not necessarily understand why lower odds are being offered on the hosts.