Watford are in desperate need of a win to keep alive their slim hopes of survival as they travel to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday. Palace are still pushing for a top 10 finish and given their fine record at Selhurst Park in recent weeks, should have too much for the Hornets.
Crystal Palace ended a four-match winless run last Saturday as they claimed a 2-1 victory against Southampton. They bounced back from an early setback with second half goals from Eberechi Eze and Wilfried Zaha earning them the win.
Although the season is not over yet, manager Patrick Vieira has plenty of reasons to be pleased with his first year at Crystal Palace. They reached the semi-final of the FA Cup and could still secure a mid-table finish, sitting just three points behind Brighton in ninth place.
Crystal Palace often do their best work at home and are unbeaten in their last six matches across all competitions at Selhurst Park, a run that includes wins over Everton and Arsenal. They have also been solid at the back, keeping clean sheets in the last four matches in that run.
Watford are looking increasingly likely to take the plunge into the Championship as the season grinds to an end. They are currently sitting second from bottom, 12 points from safety with four matches left to play and will be relegated with a defeat on Saturday.
While they still have a mathematical chance, Watford will need a win on Saturday to keep that slim hope alive. However, given their recent form, things look bleak at the moment as they have lost their last five Premier League matches, including a 2-1 defeat to Burnley last time out.
Things are just as bleak for Watford on their recent travels with one win from their last five away matches in the Premier League. Their previous fixture on the road was a 5-1 defeat at league leaders Manchester City.
How the bookies view it
Crystal Palace have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at odds of 9/13 by SBK to claim the win. A victory for Watford is valued at 9/2 by 10bet while a draw is set at odds of 3/1 by bet365.
Recent head to head
Crystal Palace often come out on top in this fixture, winning three of the last four meetings with Watford. The Eagles also claimed a 4-1 victory in the reverse fixture back in February with Wilfried Zaha netting a brace.
Players to watch
Wilfried Zaha is once again among the standout players for Crystal Palace and is their top scorer in the Premier League with 12 goals. He netted a brace in the reverse fixture with Watford and can be backed at 32/19 by SBK to once again get on the score sheet.
Marc Guehi has also earned a lot of plaudits for Crystal Palace, often playing at the back alongside Joachim Andersen. Palace have kept clean sheets in their last four home matches and both men can ensure that run continues at 5/4 with Coral.
Anything else catch the eye?
Crystal Palace have been defensively solid at Selhurst Park and with Watford not particularly convincing going forward, BTTS NO could be considered at 20/21 with BetVictor. Palace could also be tipped to earn a win to nil at 9/5 with BetVictor.
Having earned a 4-1 victory in the reverse fixture and given Watford’s defensive struggles, a -1 handicap could also be on the cards for Palace at 9/5 with BoyleSports.
This English Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Watford will be played on May 7, 2022 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Crystal Palace vs Watford prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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