Sat 7 Dec 2013 15:00 – Crystal Palace v Cardiff (Selhurst Park)
Referee: Michael Jones
This game is the first of the weekend fixtures to provide some real match betting interest; particularly in the goal betting market. Crystal Palace now have some stability with an experienced Premier League manager at the helm, and new boss Tony Pulis has already improved the form of the club in his short spell in charge. Malky Mackay’s Cardiff have only lost two out the last five away games but have not won in the last four, having drawn and lost twice.
The stand out statistic in the goal betting market is the bias towards fewer than 2.5 goals that both teams share. 71.4% of both Palaces’ home games and Cardiff’s’ away games have provided this result. It should also be mentioned that 50% of all Cardiff’s away goals against have been conceded in the last 14 minutes of their matches, and Palace have conceded 50% of their goals at home in the first fifteen minutes of the second half.
The goal scoring figures for both teams are nearly identical with Palace scoring an average of 0.7 goals per game at home and concede an average of 1.4 per game, while Cardiff score an average of 0.6 away but also concede an average of 1.4. For straight match betting, the statistics for this game point towards a low scoring draw.
The corner betting statistics do not provide any interest in this game but both teams score under 35.5 points in the bookings market and both have received the first card in 71.4% of their games.
Cardiff do not have any injury problems to worry about ahead of this fixture, and Palace do not have any key players missing at this stage. As a result, both teams will start this game with their best eleven players available.
This should be an even game and Crystal Palace can be confident of at least avoiding defeat for the third game in a row. Cardiff have been unspectacular on the road and do not score enough away goals to be confident of anything more than a point in this game.
Match prediction: Crystal Palace 1-1 Cardiff