Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa

Led by the new manage Steven Gerrard, Aston Villa take a trip to Selhurst Park to meet Patrick Vieira’s high-flyers Crystal Palace in an exciting Premier League match-up.

Crystal Palace have picked themselves up from a 3- romping at the hands of Liverpool in mid-September, racking up an eye-catching seven-game unbeaten run in the Premier League since (W2, D5). However, Patrick Vieira’s men have already earned a reputation as the ‘stalemate specialists,’ having drawn more Premier League matches (7) than any other side this term. Defensively robust, though, the ‘Eagles’ have kept three clean sheets in their six top-flight outing at Selhurst Park this season while conceding precisely once in two of the other three. That defensive strength is the main reason they are unbeaten in their opening six Premier League home games (W2, D4), last starting a top-flight campaign without a single defeat in their first seven matches at Selhurst Park in the 1990/91 season.

After snatching away a late 2-0 home win over Brighton on his managerial debut last time out, Steven Gerrard will be aiming to navigate Aston Villa to their first back-to-back Premier League victories this season. Though that triumph put Villa’s dreadful five-game losing league streak to bed, playing away from home has not been the visitors’ strong suit this term. Barring an unexpected 1-0 win over Manchester United in late September, the ‘Lions’ have lost their remaining five top-flight away matches so far, conceding 2+ goals in four of them. Furthermore, they have suffered five defeats in their previous six Premier League visits to Selhurst Park (W1), losing each of the last three in a row by a narrow one-goal margin. Away goals have been at a premium for Villa, as they’ve netted one or less in their last five league travels.