Wolverhampton Wanderers host Crystal Palace at the Molineux Stadium in their final home game of the season.
14th placed Crystal Palace have 42 points from 36 games this season. They have won just 11 games this season and have scored the second-fewest goals in the Premier League this season (Norwich being the lowest). Wolves, on the other side, are 7th in the league table with 56 points from 36 games. They are two points behind Tottenham with a game in hand.
Nuno Esperito Santo needs a positive result from the game tomorrow. A loss or a draw could dent their hopes of playing in the Europa League qualifiers. Anything without three points will be a negative result for Europa League hopefuls Wolves.
Can Crystal Palace end Wolves’ European ambition?
It is hard to judge a team from its performances before the pandemic as teams got enough time to rest and prepare for the comeback. So, let’s analyse Crystal Palace’s performances since the restart.
The Eagle won their opening game of the resumed season with a brilliant away win over relegation-threatened Bournemouth. Two first-half goals at the Vitality Stadium ensured three points for Hodgson’s side. However, since then they have lost all six games till now. In fact, they’ve scored just two goals since PL restart. Below are Crystal Palace’s stats since restart:
| Matches | 7 |
| Wins | 1 |
| Losses | 6 |
| Draws | – |
| Goals scored (home) | 2 |
| Goals scored (away) | 2 |
| Goals conceded (home) | 6 |
| Goals conceded (away) | 9 |
These stats prove that Hodgson’s side have been dismal since the restart of Premier League. They did manage three consecutive wins before the lockdown, but they haven’t been able to replicate their form. Hodgson’s side have been poor at home as well as away from home. Their forwards have been misfiring for a while now.
Now let’s analyse Wolves’ performances post-restart. Wolves had a brilliant start post-lockdown as they registered three consecutive wins scoring four & conceding none. However, they lost two consecutive games against Arsenal and Sheffield and hampered their chances for a top-five finish. A draw against Burnley means the Wolves are now out of the top five race and need to finish sixth to qualify for the Europa League qualifiers. Below are Wolves’ stats since the restart of the competition:
| Matches | 7 |
| Wins | 4 |
| Losses | 2 |
| Draws | 1 |
| Goals scored (home) | 4 |
| Goals scored (away) | 4 |
| Goals conceded (home) | 2 |
| Goals conceded (away) | 2 |
After looking at the table above, it’s clear that Nuno’s side are heavy favourites for three points tomorrow. They have been good at home and will most probably get better of Hodgson’s Palace.
Let’s talk about Wolves’ result in the past five meetings against Crystal Palace:
Wolves win – 1
Wolves draw – 1
Wolves lose – 3
Nuno Espírito Santo’s side snatched a point from Crystal Palace earlier this season after a 96th min goal from Diogo Jota. Earlier last year, they lost against the Eagles 2-0 at home. Wolves have struggled against Palace in the past. However, we feel that now the circumstances are different and due to Palace’s poor results in the past games, Wolves will be able to come out of the game with a win. We predict a win for Nuno’s side, which would put them ahead of Tottenham in the table.
