Will the Glaziers confirm their recent upward trend?
It was certainly the big surprise of matchday ten in the Premier League as Crystal Palace recorded a 2-0 away win at reigning champions Manchester City. The Glaziers thus remained unbeaten for the fifth league game in a row, but were celebrating only their second win in six draws from their opening ten games.
Wolves are also undefeated in five league games, picking up 13 points from a possible 15. This puts them in seventh place in the table. It is therefore all the more surprising that the odds are in favour of the visitors in the run-up to the match between Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton.
Although Crystal Palace also won their last home game against the Wanderers in the Premier League 1-0, the Londoners have now not recorded two consecutive home victories over Wolverhampton since 1969. Accordingly, it is difficult to make a bet on the outcome of the match between Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton.
Considerably more value we see in betting on only one team scoring, given two fundamentally difficult teams to beat and stable defenses.
Crystal Palace – Statistics & current form
Crystal Palace have been part of the Premier League without interruption since the summer of 2013. The club from the south of London has not managed to finish a season in a single-digit position in any of the last eight years. However, the Glaziers have always managed to avoid relegation early on.
This summer, too, there was little cause for concern as they finished 13th in the final table with 44 points from their 38 league games. Roy Hodgson’s tenure ended nonetheless, with Patrick Vieira taking over.
First two defeats in first ten league games
Under the 45-year-old coach, the Eagles have been extremely difficult to beat. The south Londoners have only lost two of their first ten league games. That is the fewest defeats since the 1996/97 season, when the club still played in the second-tier Championship.
Last weekend, however, in a 2-0 win away at Manchester City, the Glaziers celebrated only their second victory in their tenth league game. The other six games all ended in draws. This means that they are currently “only” 13th in the table.
No two home wins in a row against the Wolves for 52 years
Looking at various statistics, betting on a home win for the south Londoners against Wolverhampton is not under the very best of stars for Crystal Palace. Not only have the Eagles not won two consecutive league games since February 2021, but they have now failed to record two consecutive home wins against Wolves in league action since November 1969.
So, looking at the fact that the last game at Selhurst Park was a 1-0 home win over Wolves in January 2021, it would now be very desirable for the Glaziers to break that long-running negative streak….
Vprojected line-up of Crystal Palace:
Guaita – Mitchell – Guéhi – Andersen – Ward – McArthur – Kouyaté – Gallagher – Edouard – Ayew – Zaha
Last matches played by Crystal Palace:
Premier League
10/30 2021 – Manchester City 0 – 2 Crystal Palace
10/23 2021 – Crystal Palace 1 – 1 Newcastle United
10/18 2021 – Arsenal London 2 – 2 Crystal Palace
10/03 2021 – Crystal Palace 2 – 2 Leicester
09/27 2021 – Crystal Palace 1 – 1 Brighton
Wolverhampton – Statistics & current form
For many fans, it was downright bad news at Wolverhampton Wanderers this summer when it was announced that Nuno Espírito Santo, who led the club to the Europa League quarter-finals just two years after promotion, would be joining Tottenham Hotspur.
A promising successor was signed in Bruno Lage, who also fitted in perfectly with the team consisting of numerous Portuguese players. However, Wolves lost four of their first five league games without scoring a goal of their own.
Only four defeats in their last 17 away games in London
But then the men from England’s West Midlands managed a sustained turnaround. Since a 2-0 home defeat to Brentford on 18 September 2021, the Wanderers have not lost a single league game. Instead, 13 points out of a possible 15 have been claimed, putting Wolverhampton back in seventh place despite the false start.
They are only four points behind a Champions League starting place. The Lage team will now travel to the south of London motivated to prolong the recent series. And after all, Wolves have only lost four of their last 17 away games in London (seven wins, six draws).
The fourth best defence in the Premier League
Two stats stand out from the current run of form. The first is the Wanderers’ recent strength away from home, picking up ten points from a possible 12 in their last four Premier League away games – just one less than in their previous 15 games.
And secondly, the defence has conceded just ten goals in ten league games, making Wolves the fourth-best defence in the entire Premier League. Accordingly, it is surprising that the odds are in favour of the Wanderers when Crystal Palace play Wolverhampton.
Predicted Wolverhampton line-up:
Sá – Ait Nouri – Saiss – Coady – Kilman – Semedo – Moutinho – Neves – Hwang – Trincao – Jiménez
Last matches played by Wolverhampton:
Premier League
11/01 2021 – Wolverhampton 2 – 1 Everton
10/23 2021 – Leeds 1 – 1 Wolverhampton
10/16 2021 – Aston Villa 2 – 3 Wolverhampton
10/02 2021 – Wolverhampton 2 – 1 Newcastle United
09/26 2021 – Southampton 0 – 1 Wolverhampton
Crystal Palace – Wolverhampton Direct comparison / H2H record
Head to head: 22 – 19 – 29
There have been a total of 70 meetings between the two teams so far and Wolves lead the head-to-head comparison with 29 wins, although they did suffer a 1-0 defeat in their last meeting at Selhurst Park after three straight wins to nil.
Crystal Palace – Wolverhampton Tip
When it comes to Crystal Palace vs Wolverhampton, the prediction has to take into account that both teams are definitely in form going into the game. The Glaziers are unbeaten in five league games and most recently disenchanted reigning champions Manchester City 2-0 away from home, while the Wolves have picked up 13 points from a possible 15 and also boast the fourth best defence in the Premier League.
So it is difficult to bet on the outcome of the match. In a pairing that is likely to be decided by nuances, we are therefore switching to betting on a maximum of one team scoring. After all, goals have only been scored on both sides in one of the last seven competitive matches between the two clubs.
