Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

Aston Villa take on Crystal Palace in the Premier League this weekend with both sides looking for their first win of the season.

Villa come into this game having drawn one and lost one of their first two games in the league, while Crystal Palace have drawn both of their opening two league games.

Games between these two sides are often exciting, and two of the last four head-to-head clashes between the two teams have ended in draws, including last season's clash which finished 2-2. Three of the last four meetings between the two teams have also seen BTTS occur.

Villa don't lose too many games on home soil, with Unai Emery's men losing only once at Villa Park in the league last season. However, they don't have a great record against Palace, with no wins over the Eagles in their last five.

With Palace still light on attacking options following Eze's departure - as seen by the fact that their first four games in all competitions have finishes 0-0, 1-0, 1-1, 0-0 - it feels unlikely that they'll have enough to turn Villa over their own backyard, but they've shown consistently that they're exceptionally tough to beat, and we expect that to remain the case here.

Aston Villa 1-1 Crystal Palace

Aston Villa take on their bogey team (of late) in Crystal Palace this weekend, looking to make amends for last weekend's loss.

• Date: 31/08/2025
• Kick-off: 7:00pm
• Location: Villa Park, Birmingham

Villa fell to a 1-0 defeat to Brentford away from home last weekend, a result that followed a 0-0 draw with Newcastle on the opening weekend. The loss to Brentford was a disappointing one with many fancying Emery's men as the favourites. However, they were well short of their usual level and will be desperate to set the record straight this weekend.

Villa are still looking to strengthen their squad over the summer, because as things stand, they're arguably weaker than they were last season. Villa lost Marcus Rahsford and Marco Asensio through loan expirations, and Jacob Ramsey left for Newcastle United on a permanet transfer. Those departures, coupled with only forward Evann Guessand coming in, makes the squad a lot thinner than it was just a few months ago.

As such, expectations are slightly more modest, but Villa will really hope to work their way back into the Champions League after coming so close last season. They need to chalk three points on the board, and this weekend is a good opportunity.

Crystal Palace are another side with squad depth issues. After losing Eberechi Eze, Palace's summer has been very quiet on the transfer front. The club brought in left-back Borna Sosa earlier in the window, and Spanish forward Yeremy Pino joined only a few days ago for a big fee, but with European football now to contend with, Palace need more bodies to deal with the increased demands.

They've still started the season well, though, as they come into this game unbeaten in four matches in all competitions. They do look somewhat toothless and devoid of creativity going forward, which is something that needs to be addressed before Monday's transfer deadline.

More importantly, Palace need to keep manager Oliver Glasner happy, after the Austrian has made rumblings about his dissatisfaction with the lack of transfer activity this summer. Glasner's value to the club is clear, as any manager within their realistic grasp would likely be a downgrade. They probably continue as usual at Villa Park this weekend, but fans should hope the club brings in a few new faces in the next couple of days.

This game will be televised live to all subscribed UK viewers on Sky Sports Main Event.

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