Crystal Palace travel to the West Midlands to take on Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday evening in an early season relegation six-pointer, and Paul Merson believes the home side will narrowly beat the Eagles to secure their first victory of the season.
Both teams have endured difficult starts to the new season, and sit in the bottom four, with Wolves winless and Palace attaining their first three points last weekend against Tottenham. Thus, this clash at Molineux could be significant in determining how each side will ultimately fare this season.
A victory for Palace would see Wolves cut adrift from the rest, while the reverse result would see the South Londoners firmly embroiled in the relegation dogfight. Merson has predicted the latter outcome, asserting that Gary O’Neil’s side will win 1-0.
Merson: Wolves Will Beat Palace
Palace will ‘just come up short’
After finishing last season in electric form under Oliver Glasner, Palace’s miserable start to the new season will have shocked many, with the Austrian’s side tipped to compete for Europe prior to the campaign. However, Glasner will hope that last weekend’s win over Spurs proves to be a turning point for his team.
Meanwhile, Wolves have endured an even more dire start to the season, accumulating just two points from their opening nine Premier League matches. O’Neil is certainly under pressure, although a dramatic late comeback against Brighton last time out will have given him encouragement.
Writing for Sportskeeda, former Arsenal forward turned pundit Merson provided his prediction for the relegation showdown:
“If you look at Wolves last weekend, that draw with Brighton did paper over the cracks. This is a must-win game for Wolves and I’m backing them to get their first three points of the season against Crystal Palace.
Like I said before, the bottom six are all in action against each other and none of them can afford to lose this weekend. If the likes of Leicester, Everton and Palace win, the other three teams would be cut adrift in the race to avoid relegation.
Oliver Glasner’s men come into this game on the back of two important wins against Tottenham and Aston Villa. However, I just think they’ll come up short against Wolves.
Glasner’s Palace Record | |
|---|---|
Matches Managed | 25 |
Wins | 11 |
Draws | 6 |
Losses | 8 |
Win Percentage | 44% |
All Statistics via TransferMarkt – correct as of 02/11/2024