Saturday 21st April 2018
Watford v Crystal Palace 15:00
With Man City crowned champions last week and the top four places looking pretty much settled too then the attentions turn to the foot of the table.
Plus, with West Brom winning last weekend they’ve given themselves an outside chance of getting out of trouble but really it would still be a huge shock as they are still 9 points adrift of Swansea in 17th and rooted to the foot of the table.
Watford are pretty safe with 37 points but Palace – with 34 points – are still only just out of the danger zone.
Yes, it would be a surprise if the Eagles went down with Stoke, Southampton and Swansea all needing to overtake them but it’s still tight down there and with 4 games and 12 points up for grabs anything is still possible.
Therefore, thought we’d take a look at Palace’s away trip to Watford this week.
Luckily for Watford they just about managed to secure enough points during the early part of the season to avoid getting dragged into the relegation fight. But it was lucky they did as they’ve not won in their last 5 games and have picked up just 1 point from those matches too.
It is worth pointing out though at home they are still a strong force and head into this game having lost just one of their last 7 in front of their home fans.
Their opponents here – Palace – gained a much-needed 3 points against Brighton last Saturday and with Watford, Leicester, Stoke and West Brom still to play there looks to be enough points in those games for the Eagles to stay safe.
Of course, they won’t want to head into those later games needing wins so 3 points here against Watford would, for me, pretty much keep them safe.
The match betting suggests the Eagles can achieve just that too as despite being the away side they head here as the favourites at 2.55, with the Draw 3.20 and Watford 2.80.
What do the stats say? They met earlier this season at Selhurst Park and that ended Palace 2-1 Watford, while last season’s repeat fixture finished 1-1.
Add in that the Eagles have lost just 1 of their last 8 (all comps) when playing Watford then this further backs-up a good showing from the away side.
Will there be goals? There should be! Palace have scored in ALL of their last 15 games against Watford, while both teams have found the back of the net in 4 of the last 5 head-to-heads. You can back both teams to score at 1.80.
3 of the last 5 clashes also went OVER 2.5 GOALS so this might be another option to look at – this is on offer at 2.05, with Under 2.5 goals 1.75.
Palace’s Zaha has been in rude scoring form of late so he’s a player that is sure to be popular in the scoring markets but Milivojevic currently leads the way for Palace in the league with 10 goals – don’t forget he’s also their penalty taker. Watford’s Doucoure is their main man in the league this season with 7 goals but Troy Deeney often does well when playing Palace too – he’s scored 4 in the last 5 head-to-heads.
In summary, I think Palace should be winning this. They seem a team with more to play for at the moment and, in contrast to this Watford, seem to have little left this season to go for.
With Palace having scored in all of their last 15 games against Watford then there is every chance they can do so again, while being the home side and with Palace having conceded in 10 of their last 11 league games there is every chance the home side will score too.
With that in mind ‘Both Teams To Score’ is how we’ll going to play this one at 1.80
Best Bets: BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE @1.80
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Watford v Crystal Palace 15:00
– Already played this season, Palace 2-1 Watford
– Last season’s repeat fixture ended, Watford 1-1 Palace
– Palace have lost just 1 of their last 8 (all comps) vs Watford
– Both teams scored in 4 of the last 5 head-to-heads
– Palace have scored in ALL of their last 15 games vs Watford (all comps)
– 3 of the last 5 head-to-heads went OVER 2.5 GOALS
– This season’s league head-to-heads saw a RED CARD (Watford)
– Troy Deeney (Watford) has scored 4 on the last 5 head-to-heads
– Watford’s top league scorer this season – Doucoure (7)
– Palace’s top league scorer this season – Milivojevic (10)