Prediction & odds for the game: Brighton (4/6) v Crystal Palace (9/2) – ST is backing the home win

When: Monday, 22nd February @ 8pm K.O

Where: Amex Stadium

One of English football’s most intriguing rivalries will be renewed when Brighton & Hove Albion host Crystal Palace on Monday Night Football.

Brighton

Brighton & Hove Albion are slowly beginning the process of moving away from the relegation battle, but with Fulham starting to pick up some strong results, Graham Potter has to start thinking outside of the box. For all of the lovely football they play, teams around them are going to be picking up points through far more desperate methods – and if they want to survive comfortably, they’ll have to start doing the same.

While draws against Fulham and Burnley were hardly inspiring, back-to-back wins over Tottenham and Liverpool proved what Brighton are capable of when they play to their full potential. Sure, they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Leicester, but they also secured a nice draw against Aston Villa.

Crystal Palace

The Roy Hodgson era is slowly coming to an end, but many Palace fans are just hoping that they don’t suffer relegation before it happens. As a club they’ve been through their fair share of ups and downs in recent years and it’s safe to say they’ve been through worse than this, but if they don’t pick up a win or two in their next handful of games, they’re going to be staring into the abyss of a legitimate relegation scrap.

Stringing together consecutive wins over Wolves and Newcastle seems like a long, long time ago for Crystal Palace, because in the midst of all that, all they’ve done is lose. They were battered by Manchester City and Burnley, taken to task by Leeds and beaten in a five-goal thriller by West Ham.

Conclusion

This is going to be a really gritty derby between two sides who genuinely don’t like each other, and because of that, we aren’t expecting an instant Premier League classic. Both clubs can claim to have game winners at their disposal but Brighton just seem to have a bit more of an edge right now, and they’ll know a win will take them above the Eagles in the table. Therefore, we’re backing the Seagulls to edge out the win and secure the three points.

Our official scoreline prediction is going to be 1-0 Brighton, ensuring we stick to the under 2.5 goals marker. So, if you’re looking for an old school slugfest with more tough challenges than attempts on goal, this is the kind of game you’ll want to be tuning in for on Monday night.

Verdict: Back the home win at odds of 4/6 and the under 2.5 goals scored at odds of 4/6 (All odds are taken from bet365).

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If you want to bet on Brighton vs Crystal Palace then head on over to the betting page. Alternatively, you can check out some of the other available fixtures on the soccer predictions page as this season’s Premier League drama continues.