Crystal Palace will welcome Southampton to Selhurst Park this Wednesday with both sides now separated by just three points following a recent change in form for either side which has now sent Patrick Vieira’s men into the bottom half.
The Eagles returned to winning ways this past weekend as they thumped Everton 3-1 at home, thanks to another masterclass from Conor Gallagher.
That's one way to introduce yourself to Selhurst 😎🎵 Hughesy 🎵#CPFC pic.twitter.com/P8JH4r9KmN— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) December 14, 2021
That's one way to introduce yourself to Selhurst 😎🎵 Hughesy 🎵#CPFC pic.twitter.com/P8JH4r9KmN
The England international scored with a neat finish when finding space in the first 45, and then he added a second to make it 3-1 in what was one of the goals of the season as he curled it past a helpless Jordan Pickford.
In this excellent loan spell period, Gallagher now has six Premier League goals and if he can continue this form against Southampton, the Saints will be in trouble. Elsewhere, James Tomkins got his first goal of the season in what was Palace’s second of the day against Everton.
This win over the Toffees ended a four-game streak without a win, three of which ended in defeat ever since their impressive win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. Afterwards came a thrilling 3-3 draw with Burnley, before losing to Aston Villa, Leeds United and Manchester United.
Although results didn’t go their way, it was far alarming when based on the performances themselves, as Leeds needed a 94th-minute penalty to claim all three points, just as Villa won by a mere goal, while United only snatched the victory over Palace thanks to a Fred stunner late on in the game, which in itself is rare.
As for Southampton, their 3-0 defeat to Arsenal last time out extended their winless run to five games following three consecutive wins throughout the end of October and early November.
Since then, a 4-0 defeat to Liverpool along with two draws to out-of-form sides and a damning 3-0 loss to Arsenal, the south coast side have been brought back down to earth.
The club now sit only five points above the drop zone and any further dropped points from now until 2022 and they could find themselves in a very alarming position. More worryingly, their 14 goals scored and 24 let in puts them with the joint-worst goal difference for those outside the bottom three.
With Southampton’s form still hit and miss and a certain relegation battle happening for them, combined with Palace’s return to winning ways, Forebet predicts a win here for the home side and in a game that will see over 2.5 goals as Gallagher and co. look too impressive when on form.