Wins Becoming Vital To Avoid Being Dragged Into Trouble, Starting With Newcastle

With the winter break over and done with, the business end of the season begins with a run of games where Palace just have to get back to picking up points.

DATE

22nd February 2020

KICK OFF

3pm

VENUE

Selhurst Park Stadium, Holmesdale Road, Selhurst, London SE25 6PU

LAST TIME

The last meeting at Selhurst between the two sides is easy to forget in what was a goalless draw in September 2018. The hosts dominated the shot count and possession but could not find a breakthrough.

OFFICIALS

REFEREE – Peter Bankes

ASSISTANTS – Ian Hussin, Harry Lennard, Stuart Attwell (fourth official)

VAR – Andy Madley, Adrian Holmes (assistant)

INJURY CONCERNS

PALACE – Cenk Tosun, Mamadou Sakho, Jeffrey Schlupp, James Tomkins, Martin Kelly

NEWCASTLE – Jetro Williams, Javier Manquillo, Jack Colback, Paul Dummett, Emil Krafth, Andy Carroll, Ciaran Clark, Dwight Gayle, Yoshinori Muto, Jonjo Shelvey

SUSPENSIONS

None

DISCIPLINE

Red cards – Mamadou Sakho (1), Luka Milivojevic (1), Isaac Hayden, Sean Longstaff (1)

Yellow cards (4+) – Luka Milivojevic (9), James Tomkins (5), James McCarthy (5), James Tomkins (5), James McArthur (4) Jordan Ayew (4), Fabian Schar (4), Federico Fernandez (4), Isaac Hayden (4), Joelinton (4), Miguel Almiron (4)

FORM GUIDE

Last FIVE meetings between the two sides;

• 21/12/2019 Newcastle United 1-0 Crystal Palace
• 06/04/2019 Newcastle United 0-1 Crystal Palace
• 22/09/2018 Crystal Palace 0-0 Newcastle United
• 04/02/2018 Crystal Palace 1-1 Newcastle United
• 21/10/2017 Newcastle United 1-0 Crystal Palace

Last FIVE results for Palace;

• 08/02/2020 Everton 3-1 Crystal Palace
• 01/02/2020 Crystal Palace 0-1 Sheffield United
• 21/01/2020 Crystal Palace 0-2 Southampton
• 18/01/2020 Manchester City 2-2 Crystal Palace
• 11/01/2020 Crystal Palace 1-1 Arsenal

Last FIVE results for Newcastle;

• 16/02/2020 Arsenal 4-0 Newcastle United
• 04/02/2020 Oxford United 2-3 Newcastle United
• 01/02/2020 Newcastle United 0-0 Norwich City
• 25/01/2020 Newcastle United 0-0 Oxford United
• 21/01/2020 Everton 2-2 Newcastle United

RECORD AGAINST NEWCASTLE

• Played 44
• Won 10
• Drawn 8
• Lost 26

FORM PLAYERS

Top two rated players from each team so far this season according to Who Scored;

• Allan Saint-Maximin 7.14
• Jonjo Shelvey 7.10
• Wilfried Zaha 7.07
• Jordan Ayew 6.92

ONE TO WATCH

JOELINTON

Former clubs – Sport Recife, 1899 Hoffenheim, Rapid Wien (loan)

You may chuckle, but hear us out here … The Brazilian striker has hardly set the world alight since arriving at St James’ Park – 1 goal and 2 assists in the Premier League so far this season but Palace have a history of being generous in that regard. Just look at Almiron, he had not scored for the club until the Eagles made the long trip up North earlier in the season!

The 23 year old joined Newcastle in July 2019 and signed a six year deal for a reported club record transfer fee of £40million. His first and only Premier League goal was away at Spurs which secured an important win for the club.

His career started in Brazil with Sport Recife back in 2010, making his professional debut in 2014. It was not long before he secured a move to Hoffenheim and a successful spell including a loan out to Austria caught the eye of the English club.

KEY CLASH

CHRISTIAN BENTEKE v FEDERICO FERNANDEZ

With the Belgian finding his goal scoring form against Everton in what was an all round good performance from Benteke, there is a real hope that he will continue in similar form. Among the opposition is the former Swansea City centre back Fernandez who will provide a stern test for the Palace number 17.

PRE-GAME STATS

• Top passers – Luka Milivojevic (1117), James McArthur (959)
• Palace have lost their last 3 league matches
• Top scorers – Jordan Ayew (6), Jonjo Shelvey (5)
• Newcastle have failed to win their last 5 away matches in the Premier League
• Top assists – Christian Atsu, Andy Carroll, Wilfried Zaha (3)
• Palace are undefeated in their last 5 home matches against Newcastle in all competitions
• Top tackles – James McArthur (58), Isaac Hayden (47)

PREDICTION

This is far from a must win scenario for the Eagles who currently sit just a point behind Newcastle in the Premier League. However, with a favourable run of fixtures against teams in the bottom half of the table, there is a real opportunity to put any fears of an end of season scrap to rest. The opposition will be feeling the same but will likely be happy to take a point which is why Palace must start on the front foot. We are banking on a return to winning ways after a disappointing run of form.

Final score: 2-0

BETTING ODDS

• Home – 5/6
• Draw – 23/10
• Away – 10/3
• Both teams to score – 6/5