Jamie Carragher predicts Aston Villa showdown v Crystal Palace for Sky Sports
Jamie Carragher has made his prediction as Aston Villa take on Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
The Villans are in action on Tuesday (25 February) and face a trip to Selhurst Park in the hope of building off their victory against Chelsea last time out.
With an FA Cup tie against Cardiff lying ahead on Friday (28 February), it will be interesting to see how Unai Emery lines up his side to face Palace.
Jamie Carragher not backing Aston Villa victory
Two goals from Marco Asensio against Chelsea on Saturday (22 February) were enough to cancel out Chelsea’s early goal to give Villa all three points.
With two games within four days, it’s a busy week for the West Midlands outfit although they will be hoping to get another three points under their belts before progressing in the FA Cup.
Crystal Palace come into this game also on the back of a win having beaten Fulham 2-0 away from home.
Making his prediction for Sky Sports’ Super 6 (25 February), Carragher believes it will finish 1-1.
Aston Villa need to take three points from Crystal Palace
Although Villa might have this game in the middle of a busy week, you can imagine Emery would be somewhat disappointed to come away from Selhurst Park with only a point on Tuesday.
| Aston Villa | WDDLD |
| Crystal Palace | WLWLW |
On paper, Villa may not look as though they are in the best of form. However, a win against Chelsea and a point from Liverpool before are not results to be sniffed at.
Before their draw against Ipswich Town, they also did see off Tottenham in the FA Cup.
Meanwhile, Palace are in inconsistent form and lost to Everton before beating Fulham.
The Toffees may be an improved side but this shows that Palace can be there for the taking and their inconsistency can be exploited.
Emery won’t be keen to use the FA Cup game as an excuse as they prepare to face Championship side Cardiff City who they should be able to get past in the cup.
A point wouldn’t be a bad result for Villa but sitting eighth in the table, wins are needed if another Champions League finish is going to be achieved this term.
Footballers who are winning often embrace the games coming thick and fast and Villa will be no different so building some momentum ahead of a busy ahead could be important.