England Premier League
Saturday 1st April 2023
Kick off at 3pm BST
Venue: Selhurst Park
Match Preview:
Roy Hodgson is back at Crystal Palace and the popular manager has been beaming at the grand old age of 75 to be managing in the Premier League again. Hodgson of course had retired from the game and Patrick Vieira took over the Eagles but Hodgson is back and he is tasked with keeping Palace up, if he succeeds it would be a fitting end to a long career.
Palace perhaps needed the change as they have lost their last 4 games and even though they are in 12th place it doesn’t mean anything when only 3 points is the difference to the bottom three. Though form is poor it is true that Palace have had to face the top two sides in the league recently in Arsenal and Manchester City and in their last game without Vieira they were hammered 4-1 by the Gunners.
Leicester are also in trouble and they have 25 points and are just two behind Palace although find themselves in 17th place. A recent 4 game losing run came to an end when the Foxes were able to draw 1-1 against Brentford in their last game and given that was away from home it was seen as an impressive result. Away form has seen 4 points won from their last 15 and they even lost to bottom club Southampton but the Foxes have also been unpredictable and they may fancy their chances here.
Team News:
Crystal Palace: Nathan Ferguson is out with a knock just after returning from a lengthly lay off with a lack of match fitness. Chris Richards is also out with a knock.
Leicester: Ryan Bertrand was being pencilled in to return for this game but remains a doubt with fitness issues. Jonny Evans will be assessed also for fitness issues. Dennis Praet should be fine after suffering a dead leg on international duty, Youri Tielemans remains out with an ankle injury.
Crystal Palace vs Leicester Head to Head:
The teams drew 2-2 in this fixture last season.
Earlier in the season in the reverse fixture the game finished 0-0.
It’s been four games at home since Crystal Palace were able to beat Leicester going back to 2018.
4 from the last 5 meetings has seen both teams to score.
Crystal Palace vs Leicester Prediction:
There are quite a few games this weekend that have draw written all over them and here we have another one. In truth this is a huge six pointer and would be a huge bonus for either club to get a win. Leicester’s form is worrying but so is Crystal Palace’s but of course the biggest difference is having Hodgson back for the Eagles. He will get a warm welcome from the fans and it has worked out well that his return game and first one is at home and it is against a side who have also been struggling. This could be a dream start for Hodgson but we don’t expect to see a good game.
We do expect to see the home side come out of the traps and give the Foxes plenty to think about though and backing Wilfried Zaha to show his form once more and get on the score sheet should be a given, he will want to put in that extra yard on Hodgson’s return and in fact so will all his players. Despite how average Palace have been this season they look good value here to collect at least a point.
Crystal Palace vs Leicester Betting Tips:
Draw no bet (Crystal Palace) at 1.80
Anytime goalscorer: Wilfried Zaha at 2.70
1st Half: Correct Score: 0-0 or 1-0 to Crystal Palace at 2.50 and 4.00
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