Aston Villa host Crystal Palace on Sunday evening in what could be the Premier League's lowest-scoring affair of the weekend, with both sides struggling to find their attacking rhythm early this season.
Villa have drawn a blank in their opening two matches while Palace have managed just two goals in four recent outings, setting up a cagey encounter at Villa Park.
Despite their recent head-to-head meetings typically producing plenty of goals, both teams' current attacking woes suggest this fixture could buck that trend entirely.
Aston Villa vs. Crystal Palace prediction: who will win?
For tonight's Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace matchup, our predictive model gives Villa a 75% chance of defeating Palace.
Aston Villa: 75% win probability
- Home advantage with strong Villa Park support (Playing at home)
- Better attacking potential despite early struggles (Need to convert chances after 1 goal in 2 matches)
- Higher ceiling based on squad quality (17th position suggests underperformance rather than lack of ability)
Crystal Palace: 25% win probability
- Toothless in attack with minimal goal threat (1 goal scored in 2 matches)
- Poor away form historically under pressure (Travelling to Villa Park)
- Defensive frailties despite clean sheets (2 draws suggest they struggle to convert chances)
At Sporting Post, our unique prediction model harnesses insights from top Premier League football experts.
Instead of scouring hundreds of analyses across the web, you can rely on our predictions to gauge the market's overall sentiment. We scan trusted sources, analysing football predictions, statistics, and expert opinions, and our AI assigns a confidence level to each prediction. These confidence levels are then averaged to create an 'expert opinion' win probability—capturing the collective intelligence of the football industry's most respected Premier League analysts.
Aston Villa vs. Crystal Palace Odds
Aston Villa vs. Crystal Palace preview
Both sides arrive at Villa Park desperately seeking their first goals of the Premier League season, with Villa blanking in both their opening fixtures and Palace managing just two goals across their last four outings.
The attacking woes are particularly stark for Unai Emery's men, who failed to register a single shot in the opening 45 minutes against Newcastle and couldn't find the net despite dominating possession at Brentford last weekend.
Palace's summer sale of Eberechi Eze to Arsenal has clearly left them toothless going forward, evidenced by their struggle to break down Norwegian minnows Fredrikstad across two Conference League legs despite controlling proceedings.
With both defences looking reasonably solid but creativity at a premium, this Sunday evening clash threatens to buck the trend of their recent meetings, which have typically been goal-laden affairs.
Villa will be without the suspended Ezri Konsa after his red card against Newcastle, while Palace boss Oliver Glasner continues to juggle European commitments with several key players including Eddie Nketiah sidelined through injury.
The Eagles haven't tasted victory at Villa Park in eight league attempts, but given both teams' current struggles in front of goal, this fixture has all the hallmarks of a cagey, low-scoring encounter.