Will Crystal Palace lose again away from home?
Four matchdays before the end of the season, the Saints from Southampton are still in no-man’s land in the Premier League. 13th in the table, SFC coach Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side have no fear of relegation, nor do the south coast club have any realistic chance of an international spot in the final stages of the season.
Last week, the Saints at least broke the 40-point barrier with a draw against Brighton. They have not yet secured their place in the league, but with their current lead it would be more than surprising if Southampton FC were to lose their place in the top flight. The same applies to the upcoming opponents Crystal Palace.
The South Londoners are currently nine points away from the relegation zone. A few weeks ago, Crystal Palace were in fine form, going unbeaten in seven straight competitive games. Since the defeat against Leicester, however, things have gone downhill. The Eagles have now gone winless in four straight matches – including three defeats for Crystal Palace.
The match against the Saints is not at all convenient for Crystal Palace in their current form. After all, at SFC’s St Mary’s, Crystal Palace have won just one of their last seven away games. In return, there have been a total of four defeats for Palace in that period.
Southampton – Statistics & current form
Southampton are expected to be in the English top flight next season. The Saints got the important point they needed to reach the 40-point mark last week and have thus secured their place in the top flight of English football, at least according to myth.
In the final spurt of the season, the only thing that matters is a place in the top half of the table, in order to generate a little more TV revenue than the competition. With only one win in the last eight matchdays, a finish in the top half of the table is rather unrealistic at the moment. Especially as the Saints have a tough remaining schedule ahead of them anyway.
Among other things, they have to face Liverpool FC in the last four matchdays. Head coach Hasenhüttl’s team also plays host to teams like Brentford and Leicester City. At least the upcoming hurdle against Crystal Palace is feasible. Saturday’s opponents are among the Saints’ favourite opponents anyway.
Will the next home win be against Palace?
Last season, Southampton won their home game against Crystal Palace 3-1, extending their strong winning record (56%) against the South Londoners. It was already the 14th win against Crystal Palace in the Premier League. SFC also remained unbeaten at home for the third time in a row.
Southampton last lost a home game against the south Londoners in January 2018. Since then, there have been two draws and one win. In the last three Southampton vs Crystal Palace home games, a tip on “BTS: Yes” paid off. It is quite possible that the series will continue this time, after all, both defences did not leave a good impression in the last weeks.
SFC coach Hasenhüttl can largely draw from the full squad for the penultimate home match of the current season. Only McCarthy and Livramento are currently on the Saints’ medical list. The latter was injured in last week’s match against Brighton and will be replaced by Perraud this week. No other changes are expected for the Saints.
Predicted Southampton line-up:
Forster; Walker-Peters, Salisu, Bednarek, Perraud; Redmond, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, S. Armstrong; Adams, Broja
Last matches played by Southampton:
Premier League
24/04/2022 – Brighton 2 – 2 Southampton
22/04/2022 – Burnley 2 – 0 Southampton
16/04/2022 – Southampton 1 – 0 Arsenal FC
09/04/2022 – Southampton 0 – 6 Chelsea FC
02/04/2022 – Leeds 1 – 1 Southampton
Crystal Palace – Statistics & current form
In the league, Crystal Palace have disappointed beyond measure for much of the current season. On the other hand, the South Londoners were at least convincing in the cup and were even represented in the semi-finals of the FA Cup this year. Head coach Patrick Vieira’s team, however, failed to reach the final against Chelsea London and thus lost the chance to reach the final for the first time since 2016.
Until the end of the season, the focus will be on the league competition, where the mathematical status of staying in the league has not yet been fixed. However, with 38 points in their account, Palace have the chance to stay in the English top flight five matchdays before the end of the season. Palace could score a big point with a coup at the Saints as early as this weekend.
For that to happen, the Londoners will have to work on their poor away record this season. There have only been three wins away from home in 16 away games so far. In return, Palace have conceded seven away defeats in that period. Two of the seven defeats have come in the last two away games. Another setback away from home can therefore not be ruled out.
No goals again for the south Londoners?
The recent goal drought of the Londoners speaks against a prediction in favour of the visitors. Palace have not scored in their last three competitive games. The performance against Leeds United, one of the Premier League’s top scorers, was particularly disappointing. The Peacocks were held to a goalless draw after 90 minutes.
A high-scoring encounter is nevertheless close at Southampton’s St Mary’s. In the last two matches between the Saints and the Eagles, the four-goal mark was broken. If there is a scoring spree this time as well, Southampton vs Crystal Palace will pay decent betting odds for over 2.5 goals in the match.
Patrick Vieira, like SFC coach Hasenhüttl, has no major personnel worries. Against the Saints, only Ferguson, Mitchell and Milivojevic will be absent. There are no other absentees.
Predicted line-up of Crystal Palace:
Guaita; Clyne, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; Gallagher, Kouyate, Schlupp; Olise, Mateta, Zaha
Last matches played by Crystal Palace:
Premier League
26/04/2022 – Crystal Palace 0 – 0 Leeds
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
Southampton – Crystal Palace Direct Comparison / H2H Record
Competitively, this will be the 81st match between the two clubs. Southampton lead the direct comparison against Crystal Palace so far with a record of 36-16-28. In the Premier League, the Saints have a record of 14-7-4 against Palace. One of the seven draws came in the first leg of the current season.
At Palace’s stadium, a strong performance from both attacking lines resulted in a 2-2 draw. Southampton thus remained unbeaten against Crystal Palace for the second time in a row. In any case, the Saints have lost only one of their last seven matches against the Eagles. It’s quite possible that the record will be extended this time as well.
Southampton – Crystal Palace Tip
Southampton fought back again last week despite going 2-0 down to earn a vital point at Brighton. The Saints thus cracked the 40-point mark and took a big step towards staying in the relegation zone. In contrast, Crystal Palace disappointed immensely last week and failed to score for the third time in a row.
The south Londoners may be facing the next setback away from home. Crystal Palace have won only three of their 16 away games this PL season. In return, there have already been seven defeats away from home for the Eagles – most recently even two away defeats in a row.
We rate the hosts from Southampton in their current form and with the home advantage behind them stronger than the visitors from South London. The Saints have already won six of their 17 home league games this season. Most recently, there was even a win at St Mary’s against the Gunners from London.
For Southampton vs Crystal Palace, our betting odds of 2.45 are on a Saints home win. We are betting five units on this one.