Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa: Where to Watch, Buy Tickets, Live Stream, Kick Off Time & Team News
Aston Villa travel to Selhurst Park on Saturday to take on Crystal Palace after both sides claimed their first victories of the season last weekend.
Palace won at Old Trafford for the first time since 1989, beating Manchester United 2-1 thanks to an injury-time goal from Patrick van Aanholt.
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Jack Grealish's record run of 20 consecutive Premier League defeats finally ended after Villa beat Everton 2-0. Now the Villans are on the hunt for their first consecutive wins in England's top flight since May 2015.
Here's 90min's preview of this important clash.
Where to Watch
When Is Kick Off? | Saturday 31 August |
What Time Is Kick Off? | 15:00 (BST) |
Where Is it Played? | Selhurst Park |
TV Channel/Live Stream? | BBC Final Score/BT Sport Score |
Referee? | Kevin Friend |
Where to Buy Tickets
Tickets for the game are, as ever, available on both teams' official club websites, though membership is required in order to purchase. In terms of resale, both teams provide the option to make season tickets available for others to use, if a supporter is unable to attend the game themselves.
Team News
The Eagles' defensive woes continue as three more defenders have been added to the injury list. James Tomkins and Mamadou Sakho remain out with groin and knee injuries respectively.
Doubts over the fitness of Jeffrey Schlupp, Joel Ward and Old Trafford hero Van Aanholt meant that they could play no part in Palace's midweek second round exit from the Carabao Cup. The trio are a doubt for Saturday. Centre-back Sam Woods and midfielder Jairo Riedewald may be called upon to cover the absent full-back positions.
Wholesale changes are expected from the side that was beaten by League Two's Colchester.
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Villa remain without James Chester due to a hamstring injury. Tyrone Mings is expected to start despite having pain-killing injections to get through the Everton game after picking up a groin problem during the warm up.
Jonathan Kodjia could return on Saturday after recovering from a sprained ankle that forced him off in the opening weekend.
Predicted Lineups
Crystal Palace | Guita; Woods, Kelly, Cahill, Riedewald; Zaha, McArthur, Milivojevic, Meyer; Benteke, Ayew. |
Aston Villa | Heaton; Guilbert, Engeks, Ming, Taylor; Luiz; Jota, McGinn, Grealish, Trezeguet; Wesley. |
Head to Head Record
These two clubs have faced each other 43 times, Villa winning 18 and Palace winning 11. Their first meeting came in the FA Cup in February 1913 with the Villans claiming a 5-0 victory.
Selhurst Park has not been a happy hunting ground for the Midlands side, winning just once in their last 13 games there in all competitions - a 1-0 victory in December 2014.
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Roy Hodgson will relish facing Villa as he has beaten them in more Premier League games than any other side during his managerial career - seven victories in 11 encounters.
Their most recent fixture came in January 2016 with the Villans claiming all three points in a 1-0 win.
Recent Form
The Eagles experienced the highs and lows of football this week. Despite only having 29% of possession and allowing Man Utd to have 22 attempts on goal, Palace claimed all three points at Old Trafford.
Jordan Ayew's composed finish and Van Aanholt's late strike was enough to claim the London sides' first win at the Theatre of Dreams since 1989. What may have pleased Hodgson the most was his sides' defensive strength as Gary Cahill took charge on his debut.
A much changed Palace side then failed to beat League Two side Colchester in the EFL Cup, losing 5-4 on penalties. Their lack of ability to dominate the game despite having the bulk of possession will concern the manager.
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The Villans' week has been far better, winning two from two. Again, Dean Smith's side had little possession against top six hopefuls Everton, but their solidity at the back, only allowing the Toffees one shot on target, enabled Villa to gain their first points of the season.
They then cruised passed their League Two opposition Crewe in the Carabao Cup with a thumping 6-1 victory.
Here's how both teams have performed in their last five games.
Crystal Palace | Aston Villa |
Crystal Palace 0-0 Colchester (27/8) | Crewe 1-6 Aston Villa (27/8) |
Manchester United 1-2 Crystal Palace (24/8) | Aston Villa 2-0 Everton (23/8) |
Sheffield United 1-0 Crystal Palace (18/8) | Aston Villa 1-2 Bournemouth (17/8) |
Crystal Palace 0-0 Everton (10/8) | Tottenham 3-1 Aston Villa (10/8) |
Crystal Palace 0-4 Hertha Berlin (3/8) | RB Leipzig 1-3 Aston Villa (3/8) |
Prediction
BEN STANSALL/GettyImages
Both teams claimed their first victory of the new season though counter-attacking football, seeing little of the possession. Midweek clashes against lower opposition demonstrated their ability to make the most of dominating games, with Villa clearly coming out on top.
The Villans have been unlucky to only have three points after three games where as Palace's tally of four may be flattering.
Expect a physical and even clash but Villa's prolonged good form and the Eagle's injury woes could see all three points return to the midlands.
Prediction: Crystal Palace 1-2 Aston Villa
