The 17th Premier League matchday ends with the “M23” derby. A rather unknown derby outside of England. It is one of the most explosive rivalries on the island, although Crystal Palace (10th place, 22 points) and Brighton & Hove Albion (12th place, 19 points) are almost 60 kilometers apart.
The name lies on the motorway that connects London to the seaside resort of Brighton. The rivalry between the two coaches Alan Mullery (Seagulls) and Terry Venables (Eagles) was originally due to the reluctance. Neither could smell even during player times.
The season 1976/77, with a total of five duels between the two clubs, is considered the hour of birth of this derby. The situation eventually escalated in a FA Cup replay.
After the bankruptcy, Mullery showed the Palace fans the upside down “peace” sign and threw a few pence in their direction. “You’re not worth more, Palace,” was Mullery’s words. Six seasons later, Mullery actually hired massive protests in Selhurst Park.
The fans reacted in their own way and the stadium often remained almost empty. In 1985, Gerry Ryan’s (Brighton) leg broke several times. The fault was a bad tackle by Henry Houghton (Palace). In 1989 there were five penalties in an “M23” derby in 30 minutes.
The provisional final point was the Championship Playoff semi-final, which was to go down in history as the “Poo Gate”. In the away game, as became known later, the Palace bus driver put a bunch in the middle of the cabin.
There is rarely a clear favorite in this derby, and not this time either. This is proven by the odds of the betting providers between Crystal Palace and Brighton.
Crystal Palace:
“I don’t like mondays” is the motto of Crystal Palace. The Eagles have put the last three Premier League Monday games in the sand. The most recent home game was won 1-0 against Bournemouth.
Palace was outnumbered for over 70 minutes. It’s been exactly a year and a day since Monday that the Eagles have won two Premier League home games in a row.
Only Leicester City, second in the table, played more frequently than zero this season than the South Londoners (six times). Most recently, there were three white vests in a row for the first time since March 2017. The flip side of the coin is seven games without scoring.
Only Watford (nine times) remained without their own hits more often. It was almost logical that the game between these two clubs ended goalless on the last matchday. No other stadium in the league scored fewer goals this season than in Selhurst Park.
Overall, the audience saw only 13 hits (six for Palace, seven for the guests). Another reason why the odds for the “1-X-2” betting options are almost balanced between Crystal Palace and Brighton.
The Eagles are the only Premier League team that have neither conceded a goal from outside the box this season nor scored one themselves. Last season there were 17 long-range goals (eight for Palace, nine against the Eagles).
At that time, only four teams had a higher value. Monday is a special day for coach oldie Roy Hodgson. The oldest coach of the Premier League at 72 will play his 100th competitive game as Palace Manager.
This makes Hodgson the third trainer in this century to reach this milestone with Palace. Previously, these were Iain Dowie (123 games) and Neil Warnock (146).
Joel Ward, Scott Dann and Jeffrey Schlupp are injured. Mamadou Sakho is missing locked. Patrick van Aanholt is doubtful.
Brighton:
The Seagulls have a tough program behind them. There were defeats against the top teams Man United, Leicester and Liverpool. December opened Brighton with an away win at Arsenal.
Only three days later came a 2-2 home defeat against Wolverhampton. Graham Potter had succeeded Chris Houghton in the summer with the order to implement Brighton’s new game philosophy.
The interim conclusion for the 44-year-old is positive, according to the club bosses. That is why Potter, who was still working in Swansea the previous year, was given a new employment contract until 2023. The balance of the past weeks is balanced (4-1-4).
The outcome of the game on Monday is accordingly open. This shows at Crystal Palace – Brighton a look at the odds of the betting providers. However, the numbers could be interpreted differently. Before the Arsenal match, 15 points from 14 games were the worst result at the time of a Premier League season.
Only one win emerged from the last seven away games (1-2-4). The threesome at Arsenal gave the Seagulls the opportunity to claim two away wins in a row on Monday. The last time was in November 2017.
While Palace all lost the last three Monday games, the Seagulls’ yield was somewhat more positive. Each of the recent three Premier League matches on the first day of the week ended in a 2-2 draw.
Neal Maupay has so far managed the transition from the Championship to the Premier League perfectly. With six goals, the Frenchman is top scorer of his colors. The ex-Brentford player met four times more often than his second-placed colleagues Dunk, Trossard, Connolly and Webster.
The standard situations remain a weapon of the Seagulls. Seven of Brighton’s last twelve goals resulted from a dormant ball. José Izquierdo and Solly March are injured. Dale Stephens is suspended.
