Southampton are in desperate need of a win as they host rejuvenated Crystal Palace in a Premier League fixture on Saturday.
The hosts are looking increasingly doomed as the weeks progress as they remain rooted to the bottom of the table. Sitting four points from safety, they still have a chance of survival but will need a drastic turnaround in fortunes in the final weeks of the season.
The problem for Southampton is that they have failed to build the desired consistency, having claimed just three wins in their last 10 Premier League matches. Ruben Selles’ men have been beaten six times in that run, including a 4-1 home defeat to Manchester City last time out.
While the defeat to Manchester City was expected, it still highlighted a poor home record for Southampton. They have won just once in their last 12 Premier League home matches, suffering eight defeats in that run.
While Southampton are still struggling to find some consistency, Crystal Palace have looked a different side in recent weeks. They have won their last two matches and are now up to 12th on the table, six points clear of the relegation zone.
Crystal Palace travel to St Mary’s Stadium off the back of a 5-1 victory at Leeds United in their previous Premier League fixture. They fought back from a goal down with Jordan Ayew netting a brace while Marc Guehi, Eberechi Eze and Odsonne Edouard also on target.
The remarkable thing about Crystal Palace’s form since Roy Hodgson returned as manager is they have looked exciting going forward. They have scored seven goals in their last two matches with Eze, Ayew and Michael Olise all impressing.
How the bookies view it
The bookies appear to be split on this one with a win for Southampton priced at 9/5 by 10bet while a Crystal Palace victory is valued at 17/10 by bet365. A draw is set at odds of 9/4 by Unibet.
Recent head to head
Southampton and Crystal Palace have met twice this season with both teams claiming one win each. The Saints claimed a 2-1 win in an FA Cup clash in January while Palace triumphed 1-0 in the reverse fixture back in October and also earned a 2-1 victory on their last visit to St Mary’s Stadium.
Players to watch
Goals have been hard to come by for Southampton this season as they often rely on set pieces from James Ward-Prowse. The midfielder is their top scorer this season with seven goals and is priced at 15/4 with bet365 to find the net on Saturday.
Crystal Palace are enjoying some newfound attacking verve and Odsonne Edouard could be worth keeping an eye on having found the net last time out at Leeds United. The forward was also on target in the FA Cup defeat to the Saints and is priced at 5/2 with bet365 to get on the score sheet.
Anything else catch the eye?
Both teams were on target in the FA Cup clash in January and a repeat is priced at 10/11 by William Hill. There have been over 2.5 goals in two of the last three meetings and a similar outcome is priced at 5/4 by Coral while over 3.5 goals is valued at 10/3 by BetVictor.
This English Premier League match between Southampton and Crystal Palace will be played on Apr 15, 2023 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Southampton vs Crystal Palace prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
