Sheffield United will be confident of securing their first win of the season on Saturday against a Crystal Palace side that have failed to win any of their previous five games.
Of course, the Blades remain rock bottom of the table with just two points to their name. Meanwhile, the eagles sit fourteenth on 19 points.
💥 W I L F 💥#CPFC | https://t.co/utMcYSDkhb pic.twitter.com/WJydAw0Dkg— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) December 30, 2020
💥 W I L F 💥#CPFC | https://t.co/utMcYSDkhb pic.twitter.com/WJydAw0Dkg
Chris Wilder’s men picked up just their second point of the season before Christmas, holding Brighton to 1-1 draw at the Amex Stadium.
However, back-to-back 1-0 defeats to Everton and Burnley have seen Sheff Utd become six points adrift at the bottom and 11 points from safety.
Not only are the Blades the lowest scorers in the division, but they also have the fourth-worst defensive record in the Premier League.
Wilder’s side have only managed to score eight goals in 16 league outings this term, conceding 27 in the process.
There may still be more than half of the season remaining, but it already looks like Sheff Utd are destined for relegation.
However, the Blades can take confidence from the fact that Crystal Palace have only taken three points from a possible 15 in recent weeks.
Draws against Tottenham and West Ham were followed by a humiliating 7-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool, before Aston Villa beat them 3-0 last weekend.
In their previous match, Palace managed to come from behind to rescue a draw against Leicester, despite seeing just 33% possession and recording one shot on target.
It’s fair to say that without Wilfried Zaha, Roy Hodgson’s side would probably be in a far worse position at the moment.
The tricky winger has bagged eight goals and two assists this season, meaning he is accountable for 40% of Palace’s goals.
Head-to-head: Interestingly, Sheff Utd did the double over Crystal Palace last season, picking up 1-0 wins both home and away.
These two sides haven’t dished up too many goals between them in recent years, with just one of their last seven meetings producing over 2.5 goals.
Team news: Jack O’Connell, Sander Berge and John Lundstram are all sidelined for Sheff Utd right now, while Oli McBurnie is an injury doubt.
As for the Eagles, they will be without Nathan Ferguson, Wayne Hennessey, Martin Kelly and Connor Wickham this weekend.
Palace have been nowhere near their best in recent games, but it looks like Sheff Utd will have to wait to secure their first win of the season.
Forebet predicts that Crystal Palace will score over 1.5 goals on their way to victory over the Blades on Saturday.