Whichever way you look at how the Eagles have played in recent weeks, they head into this game on the brink of breaking into the top ten in the division with a victory.
TIME/ DATE/ VENUE
- 15pm
- 18th October 2022
- Selhurst Park, Holmesdale Road, London SE25 6PU
PREVIOUS MEETING
It is almost a whole calendar year since Wolves visited Selhurst Park and they returned to the Midlands after defeat. Goals from Wilfried Zaha and Conor Gallagher ensured the Eagles took all three points.
WHO SCORED MAN OF THE MATCH – Conor Gallagher (8.6)
OFFICIALS
- Referee: David Coote
- Assistants: Nick Hopton, Neil Davies
- Fourth official: Graham Scott
- VAR: Lee Mason
- Assistant VAR: Adam Nunn
TEAM NEWS
PALACE – Nathaniel Clyne, Chris Richards, Nathan Ferguson, Jack Butland and James McArthur all miss out through injury. Will Hughes is unlikely to feature after illness.
WOLVES – Francisco Tavares Oliveira, Raul Jiminez, Sasa Kalajdzic and Pedro Neto are injury absentees. Nathan Collins returns from a ban.
DISCIPLINARY THIS SEASON
RED CARDS – Nathan Collins (1)
YELLOW CARDS (4+) – Ruben Neves (5), Cheick Doucoure (4)
FORM GUIDE
Last FIVE meetings between the two sides;
- 05/03/22 Wolves 0-2 Palace
- 06/11/21 Palace 2-0 Wolves
- 30/01/21 Palace 1-0 Wolves
- 08/01/21 Wolves 1-0 Palace
- 30/10/20 Wolves 2-0 Palace
Last FIVE results for Palace:
- 15/10/22 Leicester 0-0 Palace
- 09/10/22 Palace 2-1 Leeds
- 01/10/22 Palace 1-2 Chelsea
- 03/08/22 Newcastle 0-0 Palace
- 30/08/22 Palace 1-1 Brentford
Last FIVE results for Wolves;
- 15/10/22 Wolves 1-0 Forest
- 08/10/22 Chelsea 3-0 Wolves
- 01/10/22 West Ham 2-0 Wolves
- 17/09/22 Wolves 0-3 Manchester City
- 03/09/22 Wolves 1-0 Southampton
LEAGUE POSITION
Heading into the fixture, Palace are 13in the Premier League with 10 points from 9 games played while Wolves are 17th with 9 points from 10 games played.
RECORD AGAINST WOLVES
- Played 72
- Won 24
- Drawn 19
- Lost 29
FORM PLAYERS ACCORDING TO WHO SCORED
- Ruben Neves 7.17
- Joachim Andersen 7.16
- Wilfried Zaha 7.12
- Jose Sa 6.82
ONE TO WATCH
JOSE PEDRO MALHEIRO DE SA
FORMER CLUBS – Palmeiras Braga, Merelinense, Benfica, Maritimo, Porto, Olympiacos
The Portuguese stopper joined the cub in July 2021 as a replacement for the outgoing Rui Patricio who was thought to be difficult to replace but Sa has done a very good job since making his debut for the club.
KEY CLASH
CHEICK DOUCOURE v RUBEN NEVES
The central midfield area has been a real problem for Palace in recent games, and as good as the Mali international is, his last couple of bookings have shown some of his frustration at the lack of support. He will be up against seasoned campaigner Neves who is closing in on 200 appearances for Wolves.
PRE-MATCH FACTS
- Palace have won the past 3 league meetings without conceding a goal. They can equal their longest Premier League winning streak versus a single opponent.
- Both last season’s encounters finished 2-0 to Palace, with Wilfried Zaha scoring in each game.
- Their 2 Premier League victories this season have come after they conceded the opening goal.
- Palace’s 3 defeats have been against current top-four teams Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City.
- The Eagles have dropped 10 points from winning positions this season; only Leicester City, with 14 points, have a worse record.
- Palace are unbeaten in their past 7 home league matches against non-London opposition, winning each of the last 4.
- Wolves earned only their 2nd win in 17 league games by beating Nottingham Forest at the weekend (D5, 10).
- They only scored more than once in one of those fixtures, a 2-2 draw at Chelsea in May.
- Wolves could go winless in 10 successive league away matches for the first time since August 2011 to January 2012.
- The Molineux side can equal a club top-flight record of going 5 successive away matches without scoring. They have done this on 3 occasions, most recently from September to October 1981.
- They scored after 6 minutes of their opening away game this season – at Leeds – but have since gone 444 minutes without a goal on the road, despite having 73 shots.
PRE-MATCH STATS
- GOALS – Wilfried Zaha (4 – 10th in PL)
- ASSISTS – Eberechi Eze (2 – 19th in PL)
- PASSES – Marc Guehi (507)
- TACKLES – Schlupp/ Ayew/ Doucoure (17)
- TOUCHES – Marc Guehi (624)
- SHOTS – Wilfried Zaha (22 – 14th in PL)
- SAVES – Vicente Guaita (26 – 11th in PL)
DID YOU KNOW?
Wolverhampton Wanderers was formed in 1877 and was also one of 12 clubs that created the first-ever football league in 1888.
PREDICTION
The visitors have not been in great form heading into this game, particularly away from home. They have not appointed a new manager following the sacking of Bruno Lage. Palace head into the game on the brink of three games without defeat but more than that, it is time for them to put in a decent performance and we think they will at Selhurst.
FINAL SCORE: 2-1
BETTING ODDS
- Home – 23/20
- Draw – 21/10
- Away – 5/2
- Both teams to score – 9/10
RESOURCES
