Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace

Villa Park is the venue as Aston Villa and Crystal Palace go head-to-head in an exciting Premier League match-up.

September’s international break couldn’t have come at a better moment for Aston Villa, giving Unai Emery a fortnight to rally his troops following an underwhelming 3-0 defeat at Liverpool. Villa’s disheartening performance at Anfield put a stop to their impressive five-match winning streak in all competitions and marked only their first scoring blank in 2023/24. But the impending home return should bolster Villa’s bid to get back on track, with the ‘Lions’ running out 4-0 winners against Everton in their only Premier League outing at Villa Park this term. That triumph has bookended Villa’s astounding eight-match winning league streak on home turf. Palace’s visit to Birmingham promises to extend that run, considering Villa haven’t conceded in five of their last six top-flight H2Hs at home since a 1-0 loss in 2013.

On the other hand, Odsonne Edouard’s second-half brace inspired Crystal Palace to an enthralling 3-2 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on the eve of the international break, maintaining their decent Premier League start (W2, D1, L1). More importantly, Roy Hodgson’s men have gone unbeaten in all three competitive away games this season (W2, D1), including two in the Premier League, despite netting precisely one goal on both occasions. Palace’s perennial scoring struggle on hostile turf cannot inspire much confidence. Neither can the fact they’ve failed to get on the scoresheet before halftime on four of their last five Premier League travels (W1, D2, L2).