2021-22 Premier League: Week 28 – Wolves vs Crystal Palace

Wolves look to reignite their European ambitions in a home clash against Crystal Palace at Molineux. 

Victory would see Wolves improve to seventh until at least Monday evening, whereas Palace can climb to 10th with a win if Brighton lose elsewhere.

 

Team News

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Nelson Semedo is ruled out for Wolves with a thigh strain until April.

Palace could welcome Joel Ward back after he missed their last three matches with a groin injury, although manager – Patrick Vieira won’t risk him unless he is definitely match fit.

Nathan Ferguson (hamstring) remains absent.

 

Stat Attack

• Wolves are unbeaten in three of their last five league meetings against Crystal Palace (W2, D1, L2).
• Palace have won two of their last six visits to Molineux in all competitions (W2, D1, L3).
• Wolves are looking to avoid going three consecutive matches without a goal against Palace for the very first time.
• Ruben Neves has played more passes than any other Wolves player this season, having played 1,402 passes in 24 league appearances.
• Wilfried Zaha has been caught offside on more occasions in the Premier League this season than any other Palace player, having been caught offside on 11 occasions in 22 league appearances.

 

Prediction

Having lost their last two matches, Wolves’ top six hopes have taken a heavy knock but they will be disappointed by how they lost at West Ham last Sunday through a lacklustre finishing touch, amidst solid defending except for a costly slip in marking.

Palace meanwhile were certainly made to scrap for their midweek FA Cup win at home against Stoke, where the clinical touch was luckily on their side in a scrappy encounter narrowly dominated by the Potters, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there is another tight battle here.

Predicting this game therefore is quite tricky because both teams have the quality to win this match but Wolves’ desire to win will be greater, so I am punting for a narrow home win but this won’t be any walkover for the winning team.

Prediction: Wolves 1-0 Crystal Palace

Result: Wolves 0-2 Crystal Palace