Preview: Why wings could prove crucial in well-match Villa clash
Crystal Palace will be hoping to build on an impressive point earned against Liverpool last time out when they face Aston Villa at Selhurst this Saturday (August 20th, 15:00).
Crystal Palace will be hoping to build on an impressive point earned against Liverpool last time out when they face Aston Villa at Selhurst this Saturday (August 20th, 15:00).
The south Londoners took the lead at Anfield thanks to Wilfried Zaha’s first-half strike and then held firm against an intense home surge as Liverpool tried to push their way in front.
After a largely encouraging performance in the second-half against Arsenal on the opening day of the season, Palace will have taken the Reds clash as another positive sign at the start of 2022/23.
On Saturday they welcome a side in a similar position: with a well-known boss in his second season of Premier League management, a squad built largely of recent signings, and expectations on their shoulders to challenge for the upper-middle ground, Villa will be keen to push up the table this weekend.
They too lost their opening fixture, away to Bournemouth, but bounced back against Everton with a 2-1 win – Danny Ings opening the scoring, Emiliano Buendía netting in the 86th-minute and Lucas Digne turning into his own net one minute later.
Their squad brims with recent signings like Philippe Coutinho, who signed a permanent deal in May, Diego Carlos, and Boubacar Kamara.
Added to Leon Bailey, Calum Chambers, Ashley Young, Buendía, Ings and Digne, Villa have quite the team to push for the top 10.
Whether the Villans can produce greater consistency will be the key test: in 21/22 they won three consecutive games before losing four on the bounce, ending that run by falling just once in the next six.
Villa have had the rub of the green in this fixture lately, taking 10 points from the last five.
That said, Palace have won three of the last four fixtures in SE25, with Tyrick Mitchell of all players grabbing the winner in a 3-2 clash last May. It is his only goal to date in club colours.
Gerrard is a fluid manager who fields variations on 4-3-3 in most matches. Villa played a 4-1-2-1-2 against the Toffees, with Kamara shielding the back four and Coutinho propping up the attack in a midfield diamond.
Against Bournemouth this was a more conventional 4-3-3, but in both formations the Villans played narrowly. They play without wingers, with young Jacob Ramsey capable of joining an attack – he upped his goals tally from none to six between 20/21 and 21/22.
This could work in Palace's favour, with the likes of Wilfried Zaha, Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise able to exploit the flanks, and Odsonne Edouard and Jordan Ayew also having worked out wide lately.
All Palace Members and Season Ticket+ holders can be in with the chance of winning a signed shirt by correctly guessing the game's score.
On Palace TV+
Live audio commentary Palace v Villa will be available on Palace TV+, a subscription service that gives subscribers live access to selected Academy match broadcasts, live audio commentary of all league and cup first-team games, and much more.
Find out more by clicking here.
Social media
You can check out our Instagram story for all of the pre-match build-up and our official Twitter page is bringing you up-to-the-minute match updates, eye-catching photos and more.
Our club website, cpfc.co.uk, is the place to go for team news on the dot, an instant report and all the post-match votes.
The official app
The official Palace app’s match centre and live blog is the place to be for everything you need during the Villa clash. With live stats and alerts, a running match commentary feed and lineups the moment they’re released as well as post-match reaction from Palace TV+, there’s no need to leave the app to follow the Eagles’ efforts.
