One more away trip remains for the Eagles and it is to Molineux as Roy Hodgson and his players will be doing everything they can to avoid a seventh defeat in a row.
DATE
20th July 2020
KICK OFF
8.15pm
VENUE
Molineux Stadium, Waterloo Road, Wolverhampton WV1 4QR
LAST TIME
It was a victorius trip back in January 2019 courtesy of goals from Jordan Ayew and an injury time penalty by Luka Milivojevic in what was a surprise victory for the Eagles.
OFFICIALS
REFEREE – Peter Bankes
ASSISTANTS – Lee Betts, Adrian Holmes, Anthony Taylor (fourth official)
VAR – Andre Marriner, Stephen Child (assistant)
REPLACEMENT OFFICIAL – Craig Taylor
INJURY CONCERNS
PALACE – James Tomkins, Gary Cahill, Patrick van Aanholt, Luka Milivojevic
Wolves – none
SUSPENSIONS
Christian Benteke
DISCIPLINE
Red cards – Mamadou Sakho (1), Luka Milivojevic (1), Christian Benteke (1), Will Boly (1), Romain Saiss (1)
Yellow cards (5+) – Luka Milivojevic (12), Romain Saiss (10), Ruben Neves (9), Joao Moutinho (7), James McCarthy (7), James McArthur (6), Jordan Ayew (6), James Tomkins (5), Wilfried Zaha (5)
FORM GUIDE
Last FIVE meetings between the two sides;
- 22/09/2019 Crystal Palace 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
- 02/01/2019 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-2 Crystal Palace
- 06/10/2018 Crystal Palace 0-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
- 01/01/2013 Crystal Palace 3-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
- 02/10/2012 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-2 Crystal Palace
Last FIVE results for Palace;
- 16/07/2020 Crystal Palace 0-2 Manchester United
- 12/07/2020 Aston Villa 2-0 Crystal Palace
- 07/07/2020 Crystal Palace 2-3 Chelsea
- 04/07/2020 Leicester City 3-0 Crystal Palace
- 29/06/2020 Crystal Palace 0-1 Burnley
Last FIVE results for Wolves;
- 15/07/2020 Burnle 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
- 12/07/2020 Wolverhampton Wanderers Aston Villa 3-0 Everton
- 08/07/2020 Sheffield United 1-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
- 04/07/2020 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-2 Arsenal
- 27/06/2020 Aston Villa 0-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
RECORD AGAINST UNITED
- Played 66
- Won 21
- Drawn 19
- Lost 26
FORM PLAYERS
Top two rated players from each team so far this season according to Who Scored;
- Adama Traore 7.51
- Raul Jimenez 7.29
- Wilfried Zaha 7.02
- Jordan Ayew 6.93
ONE TO WATCH
ADAMA TRAORE
Former clubs – Barcelona, Aston Villa, Middlesbrough
The 24-year-old has seemingly been around for some time but he is finally showing some of what many had expected from him since he arrived in England from Spain in 2015. He has yet to be capped as a full international for Spain having made appearances at a number of youth levels but his name will be high on the list of a number of clubs this summer after some excellent performances for Wolves this season.
KEY CLASH
TYRICK MITCHELL v ADAMA TRAORE
If, as we suspect, the Palace youth product will step in for the injured Patrick van Aanholt, this is likely to look a complete mismatch if we are looking at the frames of the two players. Having said that, this was a very similar situation that Aaron Wan-Bissaka found himself in a couple of seasons ago and the rest is history. Should Mitchell get the nod, it will be very interesting to see how he fares in what will be his full Premier League debut.
PRE MATCH STATS
- SCORERS – Raul Jimenez (16), Jordan Ayew (9)
- ASSISTS – Adama Traore (9), James McArthur (3), Wilfried Zaha (3)
- PASSES – Ruben Neves (1917), Luka Milivojevic (1431)
- TACKLES – Jonny (91), James McArthur (81)
- TOUCHES – Joao Moutinho (2339), Wilfried Zaha (2067)
- SHOTS – Raul Jimenez (114), Jordan Ayew (57)
- CLEAN SHEETS – Rui Patricio (12), Vicente Guaita (10)
- SAVES – Vicente Guaita (106), Rui Patricio (87)
- PUNCHES – Vicente Guaita (22), Rui Patricio (5)
- DISPOSSESSED – Wilfried Zaha (139) Raul Jimenez (64)
- FOULS – Jordan Ayew (55), Romain Saiss (41)
PRE MATCH FACTS
- Palace have been losing at both half time and full time in their last 3 league matches
- Wolves have kept a clean sheet in 5 of their last 6 home games
- Palace are unbeaten at Molineux since a 2-1 defeat in September 2008 (3 games unbeaten since)
- All five Premier League goals in this fixture have come in the second half
- Palace have lost only one of the past seven meetings in league and cup (W4, D2)
- Palace have lost six league matches in a row, failing to score in five of those fixtures. It is Roy Hodgson’s longest losing streak in the Premier League
- The Eagles have suffered three straight away league defeats by an aggregate score of 0-9
- Palace have scored just 30 league goals, three fewer than their lowest tally in any season
- The Eagles have scored first-half goals in just nine of their 36 league matches
PREDICTION
Palace come up against yet another team with something to play for with Wolves retaining aspirations of a second consecutive season of competing in the Europa League. There is hope for the visitors as Wolves have faltered lately which has seen their dream of Champions League football all but end. Another potential plus point is that the Eagles do have a good record in this fixture of late, and this losing run has to end at some point, right? Positive thinking.
Final score: Palace to edge this one 2-1
BETTING ODDS
- Home – 4/9
- Draw – 3/1
- Away – 13/2
- Both teams to score – 7/5