Last updated & checked: 10/08/2021
Both Crystal Palace and Leicester City head into this game in search of their first wins in three matches. Palace have lost their last two games, both away, against Brighton and West Ham. In their last home game, they beat Burnley 2-0. Leicester are only in marginally better form. They lost 2-0 at home to Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, a defeat that followed on from a 1—1 draw away at Fulham. In the game before that, they beat Watford 2-0 at home.
England internationals Harry Maguire and Jamie Vardy have been named in the City squad after recovering from their recent injuries, which should give the Foxes a boost. Wilfred Zaha and James Tomkins will be absent from Palace’s team, after both picking up their fifth bookings of the season against West Ham last weekend.
Crystal Palace vs Leicester City Prediction: Palace 1-0 Leicester
Our prediction for the outcome of this game is that Palace will win a close contest with the game’s only goal. Neither side has enjoyed good results in their last two games, but they have both shown this season that they can win games in the Premier League. The two teams are pretty well-matched when it comes to the quality in their line-ups, so home advantage might just swing things in Palace’s favour. They will miss Wilfred Zaha’s ability to break a tight game open, but should still prevail, albeit narrowly.
Our recommended tip: Palace 1-0
Our featured tip for this game comes from Betway, who are offering a price of 6/1 on Palace winning the game 1-0. This matches our prediction for how the match will turn out, and offers some good value in terms of the odds too. These two sides are well-matched, and have a poor record in their last two games. A festival of goal scoring is therefore unlikely. We do suspect, though, that home advantage will give Palace something of an edge, and that they will graft their way to a narrow, and possibly somewhat fortuitous, victory.
Previous matches
Foxes boss Claude Puel has stated in the media this week that his team will not be out for revenge in this game. That is despite their appalling record against Palace last season. City lost both games to the Eagles, conceding eight goals and not scoring one. They lost 3-0 in Leicester and 5-0 at Selhurst Park. In total, these two sides have met on 12 previous occasions in the Premier League, with Palace winning six of those games and Leicester four. There have been two draws. Leicester have won twice at Palace in the Premier League, while Palace have won twice at home against the Foxes.
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Players to watch: Aaron Wan-Bissaka & James Maddison
While the focus is often on attacking players when it comes to betting, Palace midfielder Aaron Wan-Bissaka provides much of the steel in the middle of the park for Palace. The player has made 57 tackles in his 15 appearances in 2018/19, with a tackle success rate of 70%. But he can play with the ball too, having made 531 passes so far this season, at an average of 35.4 per game.
Leicester’s attacking midfielder James Maddison is enjoying a good campaign, in his first season back in the Premier League since 2015/16, when he was a Norwich City player. Maddison has weighed in with five goals in his 15 league games this season, and has also supplied his team mates with two assists. He has made 78 crosses, with an accuracy of 28%, and has created eight big chances. He has also hit 37 accurate long balls.
