Sunday brings us a couple more interesting match-ups in the English Premier League. Round 37 is on the menu and the things are inevitably unraveling when it comes to the final league table order but there are still couple of unknowns and the foes that will lock horns at Selhurst Park tomorrow are the part of one of these unknowns.
Both teams are in the battle for survival and while the hosts have the points’ advantage at the moment, potential Tigers’ win could complicate the situation further and I’m sure that the team from the Port will do anything in their power to make that happen. Also, as always, we are going to analyze the important matchup like this so let’s take a closer look.
CRYSTAL PALACE vs. HULL CITY FC
3-Way: 1: Crystal Palace +110; X: +271 Draw; Hull City FC +290
Spread -0.5: Crystal Palace +106; Hull City FC -111
Total +2.5: Over +100; Under +104
CRYSTAL PALACE
The Crystal Palace team had a great spell in the English Premier League during the months of March and April when they recorded five consecutive victories and went 7-1-1 during a nine games span. This up rise in form made the team leave the danger zone but after three consecutive losses in last three rounds with no goals scored the fans are again starting to worry if the team will stay in the top English Premier league next season. Currently, they rank 16th with 38 points in 36 games, four points more than their next opponent who are ranked below the relegation line and with a draw, team would secure the survival.
When it comes to the recent form, as stated above, team is definitely in a downslide over the last three rounds and they are 3-1-4 in the last eight match-ups. The Eagles took scalp from some of the most successful clubs in England this season, including the new champion Chelsea (2:1 at Stamford Bridge), Liverpool (2:1 at Anfield) and Arsenal (3:0 at Selhurst Park) and they definitely picked sympathies from the fans of the other clubs who don’t like these “top four” members and that’s the reason I think that the team deserves to stay in the English Premier league for another year at least.
Overall record at home is 5-2-11 with 20-25 goal difference (46-61 overall) and they rank 19th in the home league table with only 17 of 54 possible points earned (along with teams from Manchester, Crystal Palace is the only team in the English Premier League that earned more points on the road then at home). They score 1.11 and concede 1.39 goals per match in front of their own crowd and they’ve managed to concede at least one goal in 78% of their home matches. 50% of their home games had over 2.5 goals but only 22% of their home matches had over 3.5 goals in total.
In 17% of the games Palace team managed to score in both halves and in 39% of the matches they managed to concede in both halves, while both team scored in every second matchup this season. Most common result at home is 0:1 loss (occurred five times) and most common score at the halftime was 0:1 trail (occurred eight times).
Belgian Striker Christian Benteke tops the team in scoring with 14 goals while midfielder Wilfried Zaha has six in his account. Zaha is also team’s leading assister with nine (sixth in the league). Passing segment belongs to Joel Ward and Jason Puncheon with 1243 and 1173 total passes while goalies Wayne Hennessey (27 appearances) and Steve Mandanda (nine appearances) collected 108 saves and they also have six games with clean sheets combined.
After West Ham, Crystal Palace is the team with most injured players in the English Premier League at the moment. Pape Souare (Broken leg), Connor Wickham (ACL Knee) and Mamadou Sakho (Knee) are out for the season while Yohan Cabaye (Knock), James Tomkins (Ankle) and Scott Dann (Knee) will have late fitness tests. It is unclear if Joel Ward (Broken nose) and Andros Townsend (Achilles) will be in circulation for Sunday game.
HULL CITY FC
The Hull City FC team had a chance to greatly improve their chances for survival in the last round when they hosted Sunderland, the worst team of the English Premier league but they failed. The Tigers lost the game and now they find themselves in a very unenviable position in the league table. They rank 18th with 34 points in 36 games, one point less than Swansea City and one of these two teams will probably be the third traveler in to the Championship along with Middlesbrough and Sunderland.
When it comes to the team’s recent form, they are definitely not brimming with confidence as they are 3-1-4 in the last eight match-ups including a 0-1-3 record on the road in last four visits. Hull City is the worst team on the road in the league with only six of 54 possible points earned (1-3-14 overall record) and they are winless on the road in last 17 games. Away goal difference is 9-41 (36-69 overall) and the team scores 0.50 and concedes 2.28 goals per match when visiting (1.00-1.92 overall).
Every second road game had over 2.5 goals while 39% of away matches had over 3.5 goals in total. Only 14% of the matches had over 4.5 goals and only 8% of those games had over 2.4 goals at the halftime. Hull City didn’t manage to score in both halves in any visiting game this year while they conceded at least one goal in both halves in 56% of their road games. Both teams scored in every second Hull City’s match-up.
Most common result on the road is a 3:1 loss (occurred four times) while most common scores at the halftime were 1:0 trail and 0:0 (both occurred seven times).
Robert Snodgrass leads the team in scoring from the midfield with seven goals in the English Premier League while strikers Abel Hernandez and Oumar Niasse have four each in their accounts. Snodgrass also collected team-high five assists while passing segment belongs to Jake Livermore and Sam Clucas with 1277 and 1275 total passes. Goalkeepers Eldin Jakupovic (21 appearance) and David Marshall (15 appearances) collected 126 saves and they have only five games with clean sheets combined so far.
Crystal Palace vs. Hull City FC Match Prediction
Both teams are experiencing a low moral period and the mental preparations will play a great part in this match-up. Crystal Palace is in a much better position as one point also secures the survival. On the other side, if the Tigers don’t emerge victorious they might get relegated after this round considering that Swansea City defeated Sunderland at Stadium of Light with 2:0 on Saturday and now have a 4 point advantage on the Tigers.
The Hull City have only one thing on their mind going into this clash. They have to find a way to win all three points if they want to keep their hopes of playing the English Premier League. With the imperative to win on their backs, the Tigers will open up the game and push forward which should leave plenty of space for the Eagles to score on the other side. With that being said, there is a high possibility that we are ought to see a lot of goals, so I will take the over 2.5 goals.
My pick: Over 2.5 goals (+100)
