Stoke – Crystal Palace Prediction & Picks (05.05.2018)

Stoke City and Crystal Palace meet at Britannia Stadium, in a match for the 37th round of the Premier League. In the last head-to-head for this edition of the league on 25-11-2017, Crystal Palace won at home against (2-1). The record of direct matches played in this stadium indicates total balance between these two teams, since there were 2 victories for each team in the last 4 matches. But the last time these two teams met in this stadium was on 11-02-2017, for the Premier League, which ended with the victory of Stoke City by (1-0). J. Allen (67 ‘) scored the only goal of the match. Particular attention is required for the home / away condition, since both teams present significantly different results at home and abroad.

Stoke City:

The home team is currently in the 19 th position of the league, with 30 points won, after 6 wins, 12 draws and 18 losses. In the penultimate match, they tied in a home match against Burnley, by (1-1). In the last match, they tied in an away match against Liverpool by (0-0). This is a team that usually makes good use of the home advantage, stronger with the help of its supporters, since in the last 30 matches they register 1 win, 6 draws and 8 losses in away matches, with 10 goals scored and 28 conceded; against 4 wins, 4 draws and 7 losses at their stadium, with 16 goals scored and 22 conceded. In the last 10 home league matches Stoke City has won 2, tied 3 and lost 5, for which they have won 9 points out of 30 possible. The team allowed goals to the opponent in 8 of the last 10 matches for this competition, so it has not been very strong defensively. In 36 matches in this competition, they only got 1 comeback in the 21 games in which they suffered the first goal.

The Stoke is going through a terrible phase in the Premier League, does not win 12 rounds ago, in which he tied 7 and lost 5, and desperately needs a victory to keep dreaming about the maintenance in the elite division of English football. The local team presents serious problems, both in the offensive and defensive sector, as it scored only 32 goals, being the fourth worst attack of the national championship, and suffered 65, having the second worst defense, although it has endured the excellent attack of the Liverpool in the last match, in which he did not suffer goals from the second best attack of the championship. Playing at home, as in the game this Saturday, Stoke does not win 6 games, in which he lost 3 and tied 3, and most worrying is that he scored only 4 goals in these games, besides being the fourth team that more suffered goals in the condition of local equipment, with 28 goals suffered in 18 parties, evidencing that not even before its fans it has obtained good performances. For the confrontation with Crystal Palace, coach Paul Lambert will not be able to count on Bruno Martins Indi, an important absence in the already fragile defensive system of the team.

Crystal Palace:

After 9 wins, 11 draws and 16 losses, the away team is currently in the 11 th position of the league, with 38 points won. In the last match, they have won at home against Leicester City by (5-0), after in the previous match they have tied tied in an away match against Watford, by (0-0). This is a team that usually makes good use of the home advantage, stronger with the help of its supporters, since in the last 30 matches they register 3 wins, 6 draws and 6 losses in away matches; against 6 victories, 5 draws and 4 defeats in his stadium. In the last 10 away league matches Crystal Palace has a record of 3 wins, 4 draws and 3 losses, so they have won 13 points out of 30 possible. In their home league matches the most frequent result at half-time was the 0-0 (9 out of 18 matches). The team has conceded goals in 7 of the last 10 matches, so it has not presented great defensive solidity, but their offense has scored consistently, as they have scored goals in 8 of the last 10 matches for this competition. In 36 matches in this tournament, he suffered the first goal 20 times and only managed 3 comebacks. There is 1 period that stands out in the last 18 away matches for this competition: they have scored 5 of their 14 goals between minutes (76’-90 ‘).

After spending a good part of the English Championship at the bottom of the table, the Crystal Palace raised considerably in performance, comes from 4 games of invincibility, in which it won 2 and drew 2, it comes from a great victory over Leicester, with an impeccable performance, and goes in search of 3 more points to guarantee the maintenance in the Premier League next season. Responsible for the improvement in his campaign is the attack, which began to be efficient, so much that only in the last 4 games scored 10 goals, but the defense still shows weaknesses, leaves many spaces and has suffered regular goals, so much so that it has the sixth worst defense of the national championship.