Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace betting tips: preview, predictions & odds

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These two sides are very evenly matched in the head-to-head with seven wins apiece in the Premier League. Only one point separates them in the league table and both have seven points from their last five games. With little separating them in the head to head, league table or form, we see them also cancelling each other out on the pitch this weekend.

Therefore, 101 Great Goals' prediction for this match is Aston Villa 1 - 1 Crystal Palace and is available at odds of 6.5/1.

Alternatively, you can bet on any Aston Villa win at 2.05/1 against Crystal Palace at home on Sunday.

Or, back any away win for Crystal Palace at 3.6/1 here at Villa Park.

You can find odds of 3.45/1 for any draw between Aston Villa and Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Bet on Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace at bet365 by clicking here.

Match preview

Aston Villa welcomes Crystal Palace to Villa Park in Birmingham on Sunday for this Premier League match. Patrick Vieira arrived at Palace in the summer being one of the favourites to be first manager fired this season and Palace to be relegated. This was principally due to the club requiring a massive rebuild after inheriting a badly aged squad from Roy Hodgson. With that in mind, his first season must be viewed as a success at Palace guiding the team comfortably into midtable with games to spare.

Villa were also in a bad moment when Steven Gerrard arrived at Villa back in November, with the club hovering over the drop zone averaging less than a point per game and on course for a 34-points finish should that form persist over the full season. He has picked up 1.38 points per game since arriving which would be a 52-points season over a 38-game campaign. 'Stevie G' also played a huge hand in the high profile signing of Phillipe Coutinho, who made his loan deal a permanent one earlier this week, after the pair ran Liverpool’s midfield in Brendan Rodgers’ failed title bid in 2013/14 at Liverpool.

The ‘noughties’ era in the Premier League saw Gerrard and Vieira face off as midfield generals for both club and country. Vieira’s France came out on top in Euro 2004 while Gerrard’s Liverpool won three Premier League matches to Arsenal’s two. His Liverpool side also had a dramatic comeback win against Vieira’s Arsenal in the 2001 FA Cup Final and eliminated Vieira’s Inter side from the Champions League in 2007 winning both legs.

Performances this season would suggest that the pair will likely be resuming their battles of yesteryear albeit wearing suits rather than shinpads for a long time to come. Steven Gerrard drew first blood as they began their managerial rivalry with a 1-2 Villa win at Palace back in November just weeks after replacing Dean Smith in the managerial seat.

A consolation goal deep into injury time for Palace perhaps making the final scoreline a kinder one than the Palace fans will remember. In truth though, it was a game devoid of attacking quality with Marc Guehi’s 95th-minute goal being the only big chance either side created in the match.

As we have seen with Graham Potter at Brighton and David Moyes at West Ham, a little time and patience can go a long way in this game. Both sides are enjoying strong seasons in the Premier League after over two years at their respective clubs.

Palace fans would argue we are already seeing such improvements since the start of the season. Despite only collecting seven from a possible 15 points in their last five games, they have been the better team in 4 of the last 5 in terms of expected goals. The only exception was their away trip to Newcastle with a difference of just 0.34, or a third of a goal, between the two sides.

Expected goals models suggest ten points would be the ‘fair’ amount to expect from such performance with the side performing at just 58% of expected goals for and 137% of expected goals against. They are creating nearly four expected goals of chances more than their opponents and yet their goal difference across those games was zero.

This would all suggest that between the boxes they are getting things right at the moment. Limiting opponents in terms of converting attacks into shooting chances in either volume or quality while at the other end they are doing a good job of building up their attacks to result in shooting chances in terms of volume or quality. What is letting them down at the moment is their quality in both boxes in terms of goalkeeping and finishing, which will no doubt be something Vieira intends to address on the training pitches if not the transfer market over the summer months.

In contrast, bar the Tottenham match, where Spurs scored from practically every shot on target and had four goals from just one big chance and an xG of just 0.98. Villa have largely got what they deserve from games on the balance of chances.

Therefore, expected goals is suggesting Palace will likely be the better side between the two boxes here. However, Villa are more effective in both boxes at making sure they score the goals their chances merit and aren’t handing cheap goals to their opponents.

Danny Ings Goalscorer. - Ings (pictured above) has tormented Palace over the years scoring five Premier League goals in just seven starts against them. This includes a brace in his last appearance against them in a 3-1 win for Southampton. He is expected to start for the first time against them since his summer move to Aston Villa and is the 6/1 favourite to score the game’s opener on Sunday. Or 2.75/1 to bag a goal at any time during the game against Crystal Palace.

Aston Villa team news

Kortney Hause has been out of the last eight matchday squads due to an abdominal issue. Gerrard has provided no further updates since mid-March and it looks increasingly like he will miss the remaining three games left of the season.

Ollie Watkins (pictured above) was withdrawn five minutes from time after suffering a knock on his ankle in a challenge with Virgil van Dijk. He hasn’t trained since that match and faces a race against time to prove his fitness to be involved here. Leon Bailey likewise faces a late fitness test having been out since the Norwich match due to injury. However, Jacob Ramsey is expected to be recalled to the squad having trained all week for the first time this month.

Crystal Palace team news

Nathan Ferguson is the only player to be ruled out of contention for this match with a thigh injury. Marc Guehi (pictured above) was withdrawn twenty minutes from time at the weekend with an ankle problem and is a major doubt here.

James McArthur and Vicente Guaita are both still struggling with lower leg injuries that kept them out of the squad that faced Watford last weekend. Jack Butland is ready to continue between the sticks should Guaita fail to prove his fitness in time. Will Hughes was the deepest midfielder for Palace last weekend in their 1-2 midfield triangle and will continue in that role should McArthur fail his fitness test before the game.

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