The loss of the Scottish Pirlo in the middle of the park was all too evident last weekend against Burnley as the Palace boss looks to find a way of combating his absence until what looks like the New Year.
DATE
27th November 2021
KICK OFF
3pm
VENUE
Selhurst Park, Holmesdale Road, London SE25 6PU
LAST TIME
These two sides served up an entertaining contest back in May with the visitors taking an early lead through John McGinn only for it to be cancelled out by a Christian Benteke strike. Villa were not distracted though as an Anwar El-Ghazi goal saw them lead at the break. That man Wilfried Zaha got the hosts back level and Tyrick Mitchell completed the comeback with his first senior goal for the club with just minutes to spare.
WHO SCORED MAN OF THE MATCH – Wilfried Zaha (8.3)
OFFICIALS
Referee: Michael Sailsbury. Assistants: Ian Hussin, Wade Smith. Fourth official: Martin Atkinson. VAR: Paul Tierney. Assistant VAR: Sian Massey-Ellis
TEAM NEWS
PALACE – James McArthur is sidelined for a number of weeks with a hamstring tear while Nathan Ferguson continues his fitness battle.
VILLA – Douglas Luiz (hamstring), Bertrand Traore (thigh) and Mahmoud Hassan (knee) are all expected to miss out.
DISCIPLINARY
RED CARDS – Ezri Konsa (1)
YELLOW CARDS (3+) – John McGinn (4), Tyrone McGinn (4), Conor Gallagher (3), Christian Benteke (3), James McArthur (3), Matty Cash (3), Joel Ward (3), Joachim Andersen (3)
FORM GUIDE
Last FIVE meetings between the two sides;
- 16/05/21 Palace 3-2 Villa
- 26/12/20 Villa 3-0 Palace
- 12/07/20 Villa 2-0 Palace
- 31/08/19 Palace 1-0 Villa
- 12/01/16 Villa 1-0 Palace
Last FIVE results for Palace:
- 20/11/21 Burnley 3-3 Palace
- 06/11/21 Palace 2-0 Wolves
- 30/10/21 City 0-2 Palace
- 23/10/21 Palace 1-1 Newcastle
- 18/10/21 Arsenal 2-2 Palace
Last FIVE results for Villa;
- 20/11/21 Villa 2-0 Brighton
- 05/11/21 Southampton 1-0 Villa
- 31/10/21 Villa 1-4 West Ham
- 22/10/21 Arsenal 3-1 Villa
- 16/10/21 Villa 2-3 Wolves
RECORD AGAINST VILLA
- Played 47
- Won 13
- Drawn 14
- Lost 20
FORM PLAYERS ACCORDING TO WHO SCORED
- Conor Gallagher 7.50
- Christian Benteke 7.16
- Douglas Luiz 7.00
- John McGinn 6.99
ONE TO WATCH
LEON BAILEY
FORMER CLUBS – Phoenix All Stars Academy, Anif Jugend, Liefering, AS Tencin, Genk, Bayer Leverkusen
The Jamaican international arrived at Villa Park in the summer after a successful sting in the Bundesliga with Leverkusen. It remains to be seen whether he will be a player new boss Steven Gerrard will keep in his plans but his trickery out wide and eye for goal will be a threat.
KEY CLASH
LUKA MILIVOJEVIC v JOHN MCGINN
The midfield was a battle against Burnley last weekend and much was said about the pairing of Luka alongside Kouyate. There will need to be an improvement as the Villa midfield are just as combative, including the diminutive Scot who found the net in his last visit to Selhurst.
PRE-MATCH FACTS
- Palace have won 5 of their past 6 home league games against Villa, including last 3
- Villa have won 3 of their last five league games against Palace, as many as they had in their first 13 against them
- When scoring at least once in league games against Villa, Palace’s record is P11 W7 D3 L1 – and they have won the past 6 such games
- Palace are unbeaten at home in the league so far this season (W2, D4). They last avoided defeat in their first 7 home games of a league campaign in 1993-94 (second tier), while they last did so in the top-flight in 1990-91
- Villa got off to a winning start under Steven Gerrard against Brighton last time out – the only manager to win both of his first two league games in charge of the Villans was John Gregory in March 1998
- Palace are without defeat in their past 7 league games (W2, D5), the longest current unbeaten run in the competition. The Eagles themselves last had a longer unbeaten run in the competition in December 2017 (8 games).
- Villa have lost their past 3 league away games, last losing more in a row on the road in the competition between February 2016 and September 2019 (10)
PRE-MATCH STATS
- GOALS – Benteke/ Zaha/ Gallagher (4 – 9th in PL)
- ASSISTS – Gallagher (3 – 10th in PL)
- PASSES – Guehi (821 – 6th in PL)
- TACKLES – Mitchell (34 – 2nd in PL)
- TOUCHES – Guehi (942 – 8th in PL)
- SHOTS – Benteke (26 – 15th in PL)
- SAVES – Guaita (37 – 6th in PL)
DID YOU KNOW?
Villa Park has played host to more FA Cup semi-finals than any other club ground (55)
PREDICTION
In some respects it is a good thing that Gerrard got his first win under his belt at Villa Park last weekend, so it remains to be seen how his side travel under his stewardship. They will be a tough proposition but Palace have a home record to maintain and as long as Vieira finds a viable fix in the centre of the park with McArthur out injured we are going for the Eagles to sneak this one.
FINAL SCORE: 2-1 to the Eagles
BETTING ODDS
- Home – 23/20
- Draw – 23/10
- Away – 12/5
- Both teams to score – 8/11
RESOURCES
