Aston Villa v Crystal Palace preview: Team news, betting odds, prediction
Unai Emery will be keen to see his side get back on track as Aston Villa host Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Villans are without a win in three Premier League games, having lost 2-0 away at Liverpool before heading in to the international break.
Crystal Palace will be eager to pick up points as well, though, as they find themselves sitting in the relegation zone, currently one point away from safety.
Preview
Despite both sides having had successful seasons last year, Villa have certainly shown more positive signs of replicating their success this time around.
Although Oliver Glasner’s arrival last year gave Palace a big boost to go on an excellent end of season run, the magic seems to have worn off with his side having won only one of their opening 11 games of the season.
The Villans, however, have also seen their form take a dip recently and they come into this game on the back of four straight defeats in all competitions.
Nevertheless, Emery will be hoping that a return to Villa Park will see his side get a much needed result on the board as they return to league action.
Though neither team comes to this one in great form, the West Midlands outfit will no doubt feel that this is a game there for the taking, which can hopefully boost them ahead of a Champions League tie against Juventus next week.
Form Guide [Premier League]
Aston Villa: LLDWD
Crystal Palace: LDWLL
Head-to-Head [all competitions]
Aston Villa 1-2 Crystal Palace [30 October, 2024]
Crystal Palace 5-0 Aston Villa [19 May, 2024]
Aston Villa 3-1 Crystal Palace [16 September, 2023]
Aston Villa 1-0 Crystal Palace [4 March, 2023]
Crystal Palace 3-1 Aston Villa [20 August, 2022]
Team News
Villa are set to be without Jacob Ramsey, who was substituted off in the 45th minute against Liverpool before the international break and is now facing a period on the sidelines, as well as Amadou Onana as he is suffering from an injury too.
There is also doubt over Boubacar Kamara, who is struggling with a strain, meaning this game could be too soon for him.
Given he is someone who has previously suffered with injury, Emery may see it best not to rush the Frenchman back.
Palace will be without Daichi Kamada as he is serving a suspension after he received a straight red card in his side’s game against Fulham at the start of the month.
The Eagles may also be forced to play without star man Eberechi Eze, who is a doubt as he has been suffering with a hamstring issue.
This will be a big loss for the Eagles as they aim to get themselves in form, with Eze having shown he will continue to have an impact on his team this season.
Predicted lineups
Aston Villa: Martinez, Konsa, Carlos, Torres, Digne, Bailey, Onana, Tielemans, McGinn, Rogers, Watkins.
Crystal Palace: Henderson, Chalobah, Lacroix, Guehi, Munoz, Doucoure, Devenny, Mitchell, Sarr, Schlupp, Mateta
Betting Odds
Aston Villa: 3/5
Draw: 3/1
Crystal Palace: 9/2
Prediction: Aston Villa 2-1 Crystal Palace
While the Villans have been on a recent run of band form, they will be expecting a win as they return to Villa Park this weekend. Sometimes an international break can do teams some good and this could be one of those cases.
With players like Ollie Watkins leading the line supported by Morgan Rogers, who just committed his long-term future to the club, we know that they are a side capable of scoring goals and being a threat in the opposition box.
Although Palace will be keen to turn their season around as soon as possible, they are not the strongest side coming into this one and it certainly doesn’t feel likely that they will break their run of bad form here.
While both sides are capable of scoring goals, Villa are the team that provides you with more confidence that they can organise themselves to see this one out.
In other Aston Villa news, Diego Carlos could be on his way out after emerging news of £25million signing.
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