Pick Palace to Bag a Point Against Wolves

Wolves v Crystal Palace
Tuesday April 25 2023, 14:45 ET
At Molineux

Crystal Palace has improved dramatically under Roy Hodgson and it looks a good bet to earn a point from its trip to Wolverhampton this week.

Who do Bettors Favor?

Checking out the top-rated sportsbooks we can see that bettors favor Wolves in this game, although there is some caution in the prices. The home team is -130 to win this game, with Crystal Palace rated as the underdog at +240 and the draw priced around +226.

Wolves v Crystal Palace
Wolves	-131	-130	-130
Draw	+225	+226	+220
Crystal Palace	+240	+226	+235

Wolves Find a Timely Resurgence

Wolverhampton Wanderers is on track to avoid being relegated to the Championship despite a disappointing season, but there is still work to be done for Julen Lopetegui's squad.

Three consecutive losses against Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, and Leeds had placed Wolves in an ever-closer relegation battle, but a team spirit-boosting 1-0 victory against Chelsea was quickly followed by a 2-0 victory against Brentford to end the skid.

Six points and a pair of clean sheets constituted a timely resurgence, but the situation can change considerably in the last few weeks of the season, and Lopetegui will be upset that his team couldn't hold on for a draw against Leicester on the weekend after taking an early lead. The 2-1 loss allowed Leicester to climb out of the bottom three, while Wolves remain two victories away from safety.

There are still some difficult games left on the Wolves' schedule, so a victory in front of home fans on Tuesday evening would significantly calm nerves.

Crystal Palace Chasing Chelsea

Under Roy Hodgson, the transformation at Crystal Palace has been remarkable. The weekend draw against Everton ended the team's winning streak, but the Eagles have still collected 10 points from their last four games, lifting them out of relegation risk.

A 2-1 victory against struggling Leicester City was then followed by a 5-1 rout of Leeds United and a 2-0 victory at Southampton. By these standards, the Everton match was a letdown, but the point acquired in that game brought Palace's total to 37 points and a position of virtual safety.

In fact, with another win or two, Palace supporters could be looking higher in the standings rather than down. With six games remaining, the team is just two points below Chelsea in the Premier League standings and seven points beneath tenth-placed Brentford.

Moreover, Palace has already exceeded the average number of points required to remain in the Premier League, that is 36. Since the Premier League widened to 20 clubs in 1995/96, the minimum average required for survival is 35.2 points. Just four clubs have been relegated with 37 points, and Palace has already reached that mark.

EPL Betting Head-to-Head

The head-to-head record between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Crystal Palace dates back to 1909, when the two teams played their first FA Cup match. This game ended in a 2-2 tie, with Palace prevailing in the rematch 4-2, and since then the competition has been relatively even.

In total, 29 of these matches have been won by Wolves, 25 by Palace, and 19 have been drawn. Until recently, neither team had won more than three consecutive games against the other, but in October of last year, Palace defeated Wolves 2-1 to record its fourth consecutive triumph over the West Midland team.

EPL Team News

For Wolves, chronic injury absences Sasa Kalajdzic and Chiquinho aren't anticipated to return before the end of the season, and after the weekend match against Leicester, Mario Lemina was added to the injured list with a thigh injury.

The positive news for Julen Lopetegui is that Diego Costa, Ruben Neves, and Jonny have all returned to action, while Boubacare Traore was fit enough to make the bench at the weekend and may start here.

The team news for Crystal Palace has not changed since the weekend, as three players remain on the injured list. Wilfried Zaha and Nathan Ferguson are out with respective groin strains and muscle tears, but the club is hopeful that Zaha will return before the end of April. Nathaniel Clyne sustained an injury to his knee against Southampton and is going to be unable to play here.

EPL Match Betting Pick

Wolves has prevailed in five of its seven matches at home this season, including victories over Liverpool and Chelsea and home fans will anticipate a strong performance. However, it faces in-form opponents and a shrewd coach in Roy Hodgson, who will be intent on ensuring that Crystal Palace continues to accumulate sufficient points to make demotion impossible. Both teams have been scoring freely recently, but this could be a little nervy and the draw is the best pick.