This weekend, Wolverhampton Wanderers will be seeking their first victory of the season as they host Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. in the Premier League.
Wolves are currently living dangerously after nine matches, languishing in nineteenth place with only two points, four points short of their opponents just outside the relegation zone, making three points in this one all the more vital.
Meanwhile, Palace have managed to ride out their tricky start to the season, picking up impressive back-to-back victories over Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa in their last two games.
Result Odds: Palace are narrow Favourites
Home Win – 17/10 | Away Win – 12/5 | Draw – 13/8
With only one win between the two from nine games each played, it is understandable why the odds favour a draw.
Though their current position seems ominous, Gary O’Neil’s men have not been as bad as the league table suggests, playing a lot of tough opposition in their opening nine games, including the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Arsenal. Heading into a stretch of easier fixtures starting with Palace, this would be an ideal time to pick up their first three points of the campaign and close the gap on their opponents.
Defensively, Wolves have been far too open at times, exposed heavily by Chelsea in the 6-2 home thrashing they received, but if they can find the balance between achieving clean sheets and getting the best out of their fantastic attacking talent, there is still plenty of quality at the club for them to get it right.
For Palace, they will be glad that their season has finally gotten off the ground, struggling to translate last season’s late success under Oliver Glasner into this one. Losing gifted winger Michael Olise to Bayern Munich was a blow, as the quality that he possessed gave them an additional avenue offensively, which they have missed at times in transitions.
However, having turned a corner against Tottenham through an impressive defensive display, the Eagles have an opportunity to push away from the relegation zone and begin to look up the table. With only one win between the two from nine games each, it is understandable why the odds favour a draw to be the most likely outcome of this matchup.
Wolves vs Palace – Odds Results | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Bet | Fractional | Decimal | American |
Wolves Win | 17/10 | 2.7 | +170 |
Draw | 12/5 | 3.4 | +240 |
Palace Win | 13/8 | 2.63 | +163 |
Scoreline Odds: Lowest Odds on 1-1 stalemate
Draw 1-1 – 11/2 | Wolves Win 1-0 – 9/1 | Palace Win 1-0 – 9/1
Despite their low position in the league standings, Wolves have had little issue getting on the scoresheet thus far, scoring 12 goals in their opening nine games. Though Palace have struggled to hit the back of the net, with only six goals this season, the joint-lowest in the Premier League alongside Southampton.
Wolves vs Palace Scoring Odds | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Bet | Fractional | Decimal | American |
Both Teams to Score | 4/6 | 1.67 | -150 |
Neither Team to Score | 11/10 | 2.1 | 110 |
At the other end of the pitch, though, is where the hosts have come unstuck, conceding a league-high 25 goals, five more than any other team in the competition. On the contrary, the away side’s strength is defensively, conceding 11 goals, which is considerably less than those around them.
Wolves vs Palace – Top Five Scorelines with Lowest Odds | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bet | Fractional | Decimal | American | ||||||||
Draw 1-1 | 11/2 | 6.5 | +550 | ||||||||
Wolves Win 1-0 | 9/1 | 10.0 | +900 | ||||||||
Palace Win 1-0 | 9/1 | 10.0 | +900 | ||||||||
Wolves Win 2-1 | 9/1 | 10.0 | +900 | ||||||||
Palace Win 2-1 | 9/1 | 10.0 | +900 | ||||||||
To win this one, Wolves will need to be a bit more defensively responsible and keep the ball well in the middle of the park, as their opponents will look to break on them using quick transitions, and will want to get Matheus Cunha on the ball as much as possible. For Glasner’s men, they will need to stay disciplined and frustrate the home side while getting the ball to their key men, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eberechi Eze.
Wolves vs Palace Over/Under Odds | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Bet | Fractional | Decimal | American |
Over 0.5 | 1/20 | 1.05 | -2000 |
Under 0.5 | 8/1 | 9.0 | +800 |
Over 1.5 | 3/10 | 1.3 | -333 |
Under 1.5 | 12/5 | 3.4 | +240 |
Over 2.5 | 17/20 | 1.85 | -118 |
Under 2.5 | 17/20 | 1.85 | -118 |
Over 3.5 | 9/4 | 3.25 | +225 |
Under 3.5 | 1/3 | 1.33 | -300 |
Over 4.5 | 9/2 | 5.5 | +450 |
Under 4.5 | 1/8 | 1.13 | -800 |
Over 5.5 | 9/1 | 10.0 | +900 |
Under 5.5 | 1/25 | 1.04 | -2500 |
Goalscorer Odds: Wolves and Palace both Present Good Options
Cunha – 11/5 | Larsen – 21/10 | Mateta – 23/10 | Eze – 23/10
Jorgen Strand Larsen is considered the most likely source of a goal in this affair, as the Norwegian forward has proven to be a goalscoring threat since arriving in the summer, hitting the back of the net on three occasions.
Wolves Goalscorer Odds vs Palace | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Goalscorer | First | Anytime | ||||
Fractional | Decimal | American | Fractional | Decimal | Anytime | |
Matheus Cunha | 6/1 | 7.0 | +600 | 11/5 | 3.2 | +220 |
Jorgen Strand Larsen | 6/1 | 7.0 | +600 | 21/10 | 3.1 | +210 |
Pablo Sarabia | 8/1 | 9.0 | +800 | 3/1 | 4.0 | +300 |
Goncalo Guedes | 9/1 | 10.0 | +900 | 7/2 | 4.5 | +350 |
Carlos Forbs | 10/1 | 11.0 | +1000 | 7/2 | 4.5 | +350 |
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde | 12/1 | 13.0 | +1200 | 5/1 | 6.0 | +500 |
Matheus Cunha is also 11/5 to score anytime in this matchup, scoring four already this season following on from his 12-goal campaign last time around.
Palace Goalscorer Odds vs Wolves | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Goalscorer | First | Anytime | ||||
Fractional | Decimal | American | Fractional | Decimal | Anytime | |
Jean-Philippe Mateta | 13/2 | 7.5 | +650 | 23/10 | 3.3 | +230 |
Eberechi Eze | 13/2 | 8.5 | +750 | 23/10 | 3.3 | +230 |
Eddie Nketiah | 15/2 | 9.0 | +800 | 13/5 | 3.6 | +260 |
Franco Umeh-Chibueze | 8/1 | 9.5 | +850 | 11/4 | 3.75 | +275 |
Ismaila Sarr | 11/1 | 9.5 | +850 | 4/1 | 5.0 | +400 |
Asher Agbinone | 11/1 | 10.0 | +900 | 4/1 | 5.0 | +400 |
Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eberechi Eze are considered Crystal Palace’s biggest threat by the bookies, both attaining 13/2 odds to score first and 23/10 at anytime. Mateta has scored half of his side’s goals in the Premier League (three), while despite Eze’s slower start to the campaign, he has scored above ten in his last two consecutive seasons.
Prediction: Wolves to get off the mark in a 2-1 victory
Gary O’Neils men to pick up the first victory of the season
This game is likely to be a tight contest given that Wolves excel offensively and are defensively vulnerable, while their opponents are defensively strong and offensively blunt. The home side may possess the crowd advantage, but the away side carries the confidence of consecutive victories over strong opposition. Though in desperate need of three points here, and with the quality that they do possess in attacking areas, there is probable cause to believe that they can open up this Palace defence and outscore their opponents. But Glasner’s side can also cause them issues if they can successfully transition the ball quickly to their forwards and keep the game tight. This game could go either way, but due to the offensive firepower of the home team, we think that O’Neill will get his first win of the season here.
- Both teams to score (4/6)
- Wolves to win (17/10)
- Jorgen Strand Larsen to score first (6/1)
- Jean-Philippe Mateta to score any time (23/10)
Goalscorer odds provided by PaddyPower. All other odds courtesy of William Hill.