For our Aston Villa vs. Crystal Palace prediction, we're going for a 2-0 win for the home side.
Crystal Palace travel to Villa Park in search of a much-needed win this weekend as they face Aston Villa in the Premier League.
Aston Villa currently sit 11th in the Premier League with nine wins, four draws and eleven losses from twenty-four games this season.
Villa have had a solid campaign since the departure of manager Steven Gerrard and the arrival of former Arsenal boss Unai Emery, as they look on course to secure a comfortable finish in the Premier League, even if a European spot now looks out of reach.
They enter this game amidst a mixed run of form having won two and lost three of their last five matches in the league, but having claimed a big 2-0 way away at Everton last time out optimism will be high once more having arrested a three-match losing streak.
Villa are still not the team Emery wants them to be but they've undoubtedly improved since the Spaniard's arrival and fans will be confident that he can help them push on next season after a transfer window that will allow him to recruit players of his own desire.
Their form at home is a slight concern coming into this game with Emery's men winning just one of their last five matches on home soil while losing both of their last two games at Villa park by a 2-4 scoreline.
They are, though, entertaining a side woefully out of form here so they're presented with an ideal opportunity to claim an overdue three points on home soil. It should be a competitive encounter but it's one Villa should be favoured to win.
Crystal Palace currently sit 12th in the Premier League with six wins, nine draws and nine losses from twenty-four games this season.
Crystal Palace have had a fairly milquetoast campaign this season having drawn the third most games of any team in the league with only four teams scoring fewer goals than them.
Those statistic are typified by the current winless run Patrick Vieira's side are on having failed to win any of their last nine games on all competitions.
It's been a bleak run for the London club who've been involved in a number of drab spectacles, the most recent of which was a 0-0 draw at home to Liverpool. A decent point, sure, but not one that'll last long in the memory.
Palace were one of the surprise packages in the league last season but they've failed to build on last season's success as they now seem likely to limp to a harmless bottom half finish.
Vieira's side comfortably beat Villa 3-1 when the two sides met at Selhurst Park back in August, but Villa were under the guidance of Steven Gerrard back than and you can be sure that this will be a drastically different game.
Survival is the main goal and Palace should achieve that without too much anxiety, but they do need to bring an end to this winless run but doing so this weekend will be a tough task.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of our previews, tips and offers for this weekend’s action.