Crystal Palace vs Wolves preview, predictions & team news
Wolves will get their first proper taste of the ‘European hangover’, qualifiers excluded, as they face Crystal Palace just three days after their opening Europa League game against Braga.
Nuno’s men have been disappointing in the league so far this season: they are one of just two teams who are yet to win a league game and failed to find a way past their Portuguese opponents in midweek.
Palace, on the other hand, have been hit and miss. After an indifferent start, two narrow wins over Villa and Man Utd were followed by a hammering at Spurs last weekend.
There is a place in the top half of the table up for grabs for Roy Hodgson’s side if they are victorious. The Eagles are yet to concede at home but were beaten at Selhurst by Wolves last season.
Read on for our predictions, key players, TV info and team news.
When is Crystal Palace vs Wolves and where can I watch it live?
Competition: Premier League
Venue: Selhurst Park
Date: Sunday, 22 September
Kick-off: 2pm (BST)
TV coverage: n/a
Last five meetings: Crystal Palace vs Wolves
2 January 2019: Wolves 0-2 Palace (Premier League)
6 October 2019: Palace 0-1 Wolves (Premier League)
1 January 2013: Palace 3-1 Wolves (Championship)
2 October 2012: Wolves 1-2 Palace (Championship)
2 February 2010: Palace 3-1 Wolves (FA Cup)
Aggregate Score: Palace (WLWWW) 10-4 Wolves (LWLLL)
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Ones to watch
Palace: Jordan Ayew
Ayew managed just one league goal last season (away at Wolves, coincidentally) and the announcement of his permanent signing in the summer was met with groans by Palace fans. However, he has been arguably their best player this season.
He scored the winner against Villa and the opening goal at Old Trafford too. The biggest compliment you can pay him is that when he was replaced by Wilfried Zaha against Everton, Palace arguably got worse.
He looks a different player this season and has already caused Wolves problems in the past.
Key stat: Ayew has already scored double (2) what he did last season (1) in the Premier League.
Wolves: Patrick Cutrone
The fact that Cutrone is genuinely in the discussion to become a fixture in the Wolves starting XI over Diogo Jota and Raul Jimenez is a testament to how well the Italian striker has done since his arrival from AC Milan.
He scored his first goal for Wolves against Chelsea last week and will be looking to add to his tally as the fixtures begin to pile up for the men from Molineux.
Many were shocked that Wolves managed to sign Cutrone from Milan. After all, he was widely regarded as one of the most promising players in Europe last season when he was playing at the San Siro.
Key stat: Cutrone has scored with 50% of his shots on target this season.
Team news
Palace
The returns to fitness of Mamadou Sakho and James Tomkins are timely, given Martin Kelly’s recent set-back. The pair were Palace’s first choice defensive partnership last season but the form of Gary Cahill has certainly given Hodgson something to think about.
James McArthur was injured last week and Hodgson is yet to confirm whether he will be back. Connor Wickham also misses out.
Predicted XI: Guaita; Ward, Cahill, Sakho, Van Aanholt; Milivojevic, Kouyate, Meyer; Zaha, Ayew, Schlupp.
READ MORE: Wolves 0-1 Braga – Three reasons to go deeper than the scoreline despite Europa League defeat
Wolves
Nuno’s thin squad was tested to its limits against Braga and their main issue will be fatigue, so don’t be surprised to see a rotated XI.
Predicted XI: Patricio; Vallejo, Coady, Boly; Doherty, Saiss, Moutinho, Neves, Jonny; Cutrone, Jimenez.
Squawka prediction
These are two of the hardest sides to predict in the league. Palace seem to lose every game they should win and vice versa, whereas Wolves dominated the top six last season but lost home and away to Huddersfield.
Palace often struggle at home and Wolves will be tired. All the signs point towards a bore draw.
Palace 0-0 Wolves
