This is a match-up of two teams who have nothing to play for as the condensed campaign stumbles to a conclusion, but one thing we will not miss is the wide ranging kick off times that have been used this season.
DATE
16th May 2021
KICK OFF
12pm
VENUE
Selhurst Park Stadium, Holmesdale Road, Selhurst, London SE25 6PU
LAST TIME
A goal from former Villain Jordan Ayew with less than twenty minutes left to play was enough to seal all three points for the Eagles. The visitors did lose Trezeguet early in the second half due to a second booking which contributed to the defeat.
WHO SCORED MAN OF THE MATCH – John McGinn (7.7)
OFFICIALS
Referee: David Coote. Assistants: Nick Hopton, James Mainwaring. Fourth official: Robert Jones. VAR: Paul Tierney. Assistant VAR: Andy Halliday.
TEAM NEWS
PALACE – Mamadou Sakho, Wayne Hennessey, Nathan Ferguson, Connor Wickham, James Tomkins and James McArthur are all struggling with injury
VILLA – Trezeguet and Morgan Sanson are unlikely to feature due to injury
DISCIPLINARY
RED CARDS – Luka Milivojevic (1), Christian Benteke (1), Douglas Luiz (1), Matty Cash (1), Tyrone Mings (1), Ollie Watkins (1)
YELLOW CARDS (5+) – John McGinn (9), Douglas Luiz (8), Luka Milivojevic (8), Matt Targett (7), Jack Grealish (6), Matty Cash (6), Wilfried Zaha (5)
FORM GUIDE
Last FIVE meetings between the two sides;
- 26/12/2020 Aston Villa 3-0 Crystal Palace
- 12/07/2020 Aston Villa 2-0 Crystal Palace
- 31/08/2019 Crystal Palace 1-0 Aston Villa
- 12/01/2016 Aston Villa 1-0 Crystal Palace
- 22/08/2015 Crystal Palace 2-1 Aston Villa
Last FIVE results for Palace;
- 11/05/2021 Southampton 3-1 Crystal Palace
- 08/05/2021 Sheffield United 0-2 Crystal Palace
- 01/05/2021 Crystal Palace 0-2 Manchester City
- 26/04/2021 Leicester City 2-1 Crystal Palace
- 10/04/2021 Crystal Palace 1-4 Chelsea
Last FIVE results for Villa;
- 13/05/2021 Aston Villa 0-0 Everton
- 09/05/2021 Aston Villa 1-3 Manchester United
- 01/05/2021 Everton 1-2 Aston Villa
- 25/04/2021 Aston Villa 2-2 West Bromwich Albion
- 21/04/2021 Aston Villa 1-2 Manchester City
RECORD AGAINST VILLA
- Played 46
- Won 12
- Drawn 14
- Lost 20
FORM PLAYERS ACCORDING TO WHO SCORED
- Jack Grealish 7.66
- Kortney Hause 7.53
- Christian Benteke 7.03
- Wilfried Zaha 6.88
ONE TO WATCH
EMILIANO MARTINEZ
FORMER CLUBS – Independiente, Arsenal, Oxford United (loan), Sheffield Wednesday (loan), Rotherham United (loan), Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan), Getafe (loan), Reading (loan)
The shot-stopper from Argentina has had to bide his time but after taking advantage of injury at Arsenal, he took the opportunity to become the number one at Villa Park.
KEY CLASH
JOEL WARD v ANWAR EL GHAZI
The Villa winger caused problems in the game earlier in the season but the Palace full back has been in good form this season so the match up will be intriguing to watch, should both start the game.
PRE-MATCH FACTS
- Villa have kept 15 clean sheets this season
- Palace have lost 4 of their last 5 league games
- Villa have kept a clean sheet in 5 of their last 7 matches against Palace
- Villa have only beaten Palace once at Selhurst in 14 attempts
- Palace have one the last two games between the two at Selhurst
- Villa’s last win at Selhurst was in December 2014
PRE-MATCH STATS
- GOALS – Wilfried Zaha (10 – 16th in PL)
- ASSISTS – Eberechi Eze (5)
- PASSES – Luka Milivojevic (1,294)
- TACKLES – Andros Townsend (66)
- TOUCHES – Luka Milivojevic (1,668)
- SHOTS – Christian Benteke (64 – joint 21st)
PREDICTION
With very little to play for and the news that there is a new dawn on the horizon for Palace with strong rumours that Roy Hodgson’s tenure at the club coming to an end, it makes the result even more difficult to predict. However, Selhurst Park has not been a happy hunting ground for Villa in the recent past having had just 1 win in the last 14 visits to South London.
FINAL SCORE: 2-1 to Palace
BETTING ODDS
- Home – 2/1
- Draw – 12/5
- Away – 5/4
- Both teams to score – 13/20
RESOURCES
