Crystal Palace vs Southampton 22/01/20

22 January 2020

Southampton head to Selhurst Park to take on out-of-sorts Crystal Palace, looking to extend their unbeaten run in the Premier League (PL) H2Hs to four games (W1, D2).

Although they managed to walk away from Manchester City with a point last weekend, the hosts have now failed to pick up a victory in four consecutive PL fixtures (D4). Before being held to a 2-2 draw to City, the Eagles have played out three successive 1-1 draws, with 70% of the goals (scored/conceded) across those matches coming in the second half. But, for Palace, goals have been at a premium so far, as Roy Hodgson’s men have bagged a miserly average of 0.9 goals per PL home match, scoring over 1.5 goals only twice in 11 PL games held at Selhurst Park. Also, the Glaziers have lost four of their last six top-flight home H2Hs with Southampton (W2), including the previous two – drawing a blank in three of those defeats.

Meanwhile, the visitors allowed a two-goal lead slip through their hands against Wolves last weekend. Indeed, a 3-2 home defeat to Wolves has brought Southampton’s five-game unbeaten league run to a halt (W4, D1). Nonetheless, the Saints have overseen an upturn in results lately, especially when away from home. Ralph Hasenhüttl’s players have gone from five consecutive away games without a win (D2, L3) to three straight triumphs, finding the net in both halves in each of those successes. However, their defensive frailties have seen Southampton concede at least once in seven of their last eight PL road trips, with a 2-0 win over Chelsea being a lone exception. Impressively, the Saints have opened the scoring in eight of 11 PL away fixtures (73%), failing to hold on to the lead on three of those occasions (D2, L1).