MY ACCOUNT
– Struggling Crystal Palace have failed to win any of their last four home meetings with Brighton
– Brighton arrive in excellent form having won six of their last nine Premier League matches
– Recommended bet: Brighton to win
A promising start to 2022-23 has slowly become a little concerning for Crystal Palace supporters, with the Eagles going into the weekend just six points above the relegation places.
Manager Patrick Vieira would point to a tricky run of fixtures against Tottenham, Chelsea, Manchester United – twice – and Newcastle to explain their current five-match winless run in the Premier League.
But add in a 3-0 home thumping by Fulham and an FA Cup exit to rock-bottom Southampton and Palace’s post-World Cup form looks worrying, with the Eagles claiming just one win – against struggling Bournemouth – in eight matches since the restart and losing five.
There would be no better time to reverse their fortunes than against rivals Brighton, but the Seagulls arrive in sensational form.
Roberto De Zerbi’s visitors are in the top six on merit and supporters will be dreaming of FA Cup glory and a shock run at the Champions League places given the quality of some of their recent performances.
Crystal Palace vs Brighton (Saturday, 3pm)
Team news
Vieira could be without key men at either end of the pitch, with centre-back Joachim Andersen likely to again miss out with a calf injury and attacker Wilfried Zaha out of action with a hamstring strain.
Midfielder James McArthur and defender Nathan Ferguson have both yet to feature this season due to injury and are again expected to miss out, as is full-back Joel Ward.
Brighton pair Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo are set to return to midfield after the former missed last weekend’s victory over Bournemouth due to suspension while Caicedo was benched following the distraction of recent transfer speculation.
Striker Evan Ferguson and midfielder Adam Lallana both have an outside chance of returning from injury but midfielder Jakub Moder and centre-back Levi Colwill are not expected back until the end of the month.
The stats
Palace hold the edge over Brighton in recent renewals of this long-distance derby, with the Eagles winning two of their last six meetings and each of the other four ending 1-1.
Both victories in that run came on the south coast, however. The Seagulls have not lost on any of their last four visits to Selhurst Park and have suffered defeat in just two of their last nine to south London, winning twice and drawing five.
De Zerbi’s men also arrive in far better form, winning six of their last nine Premier League games and losing only two.
They have also been ruthless against teams placed ninth and lower, compiling a record of nine wins, three draws and just one defeat in 13 such matches.
Palace have also collected most of their points against fellow strugglers and their record against the top teams is concerning given they host sixth-placed Brighton – in 12 meetings with teams in the top half of the Premier League, the Eagles remain winless and have lost seven times.
Prediction
Brighton have nothing to fear in terms of form, fitness or history when they head to Selhurst Park and a free-scoring Seagulls side with a midfield bolstered by the returns of Mac Allister and Caicedo should outclass their out-of-form rivals.
Palace look devoid of confidence after a run of four defeats and two draws in six games in all competitions and they are further undermined by the likely absence of key men Zaha and Andersen.
Andersen in particular will be missed against a Brighton side that have scored at least two goals in seven of their last eight games, so adding over 1.5 Brighton goals to Bet Builder selections looks sensible.
However, the best bet is to back De Zerbi’s in-form Seagulls to go home with all three points as they maintain their impressive push for the European places.
Back Brighton to win, available at evens with LiveScore Bet.
