Prediction & odds for the game: Brighton (1/1) v Crystal Palace (14/5)

When: Saturday, 29th February 2020 @ 12.30pm K.O

Where: Amex Stadium

Brighton & Hove Albion will meet Crystal Palace in the A23 derby this weekend as both clubs attempt to edge towards Premier League survival.

Brighton

It’s been a fairly inconsistent campaign up to this point for Brighton but whenever it seems like they’re going to drift down into the bottom three, they always pull together a handful of positive results to get themselves out of a tricky situation. They aren’t the flashiest side and they certainly don’t have the most talented of squads in comparison to the rest of the top flight, but they’re gritty and they aren’t afraid to get stuck in.

A narrow loss to Everton was viewed as a bit of a disappointment, but a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa got them back on track. They suffered a notable defeat at the hands of Bournemouth but they’ve managed to go unbeaten in their last three, drawing 3-3 with West Ham, 1-1 against Watford and, most impressively, 1-1 against Sheffield United.

Crystal Palace

After a positive start to the campaign where it looked like a top half finish wasn’t outside the realms of possibility for Palace, with some even suggesting they could make a surge for a place in the Europa League, things seem to have slowed down pretty dramatically ever since. Many fans are eager to see a change in the style that they play, and as a default result of that, there are calls for Palace to make a managerial change – although Hodgson will almost certainly ease those concerns if they can win this one.

Crystal Palace have always had a somewhat bizarre ability to pick up results against some of the Premier League’s top sides, with two notable examples being the back to back draws against Arsenal and Manchester City back in January. They proceeded to go on a poor run of three consecutive losses against Southampton, Sheffield United and Everton before getting back on track courtesy of a narrow triumph over Newcastle United.

Conclusion

Palace have a certain flair that seems to go above and beyond what Brighton are capable of from an attacking standpoint, but in a game like this we think the atmosphere at the Amex is going to be the difference maker. We think Palace will struggle to get going, allowing the Seagulls to really stamp their authority on the game in a big way. Brighton are a well-organised side and after securing a point at Selhurst Park back in December, we believe they’ll go one step further this weekend.

We’re backing the over 2.5 goals market here with both teams throwing everything against the wall and seeing what sticks.

Verdict: Back the home win at odds of 1/1 and the over 2.5 goals scored at odds of 13/10. (All odds are taken from bet365).

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