Crystal Palace v Huddersfield: Eagles set to soar again

22Dec 2012

England - The Championship

Ian Holloway's Crystal Palace should be too strong for off-colour Huddersfield, says Andy Tongue

Crystal Palace v Huddersfield

Saturday December 22, 17:20 GMT

LIVE on Sky Sports Two

High-flying Crystal Palace couldn't have chosen better opponents for their first game of the holiday period with Huddersfield without a win in seven and bottom of the current form table in the Championship.

Crystal Palace

Ian Holloway will be desperate for his side to pick up three points and keep the pressure on leaders Cardiff after two frustrating 2-2 draws against Blackpool and Birmingham, in which they conceded a late equaliser on both occasions. With goal machine Glenn Murray, whose strikes against Birmingham were his 19th and 20th of the season so far (all scored in the league) and - in Wilfried Zaha - the hottest property outside of the Premier League in tandem, the visitors will likely be in for a torrid afternoon. And you can bet Holloway will ensure there is no complacency at Selhurst Park - his publicly stated desire to bring in a couple of reinforcements next month will focus any of his players' minds, which may have started to wonder.

Huddersfield

As mentioned above, the Terriers are on a rotten run and since the middle of October they have won just two games - against Barnsley and Bristol City. They are slipping fast towards the wrong end of the table and may be dragged into the relegation scrap alongside that pair if manager Simon Grayson doesn't arrest their slide quickly. After defeat at Hull last week he admitted they hadn't tested the home side's goalkeeper and striker Alan Lee picked up a three-match ban for his part in the incident at the final whistle, which saw Steve Bruce's son Alex sent off for the Tigers. The hole left by Jordan Rhodes' departure is starting to look rather large and neither James Vaughan nor on-loan Jermaine Beckford has yet been able to plug it.

Match Odds

Palace are priced at 1.77 for the win, which looks very reasonable given the visitors' poor current state, and I wouldn't put anybody off backing them at that. If you are looking for some extra value then the home side are 2.82 to be winning at both half-time and full-time.

First goalscorer

Murray unsurprisingly dominates this market and his price 4.1 means there is value among some of his colleagues. Zaha is the obvious alternative but Brazilian midfielder Andre Moritz, who was restored to the starting XI against Birmingham and has three goals from six starts, catches our eye and is worth a chance at 9.4.

Under/Over 3.5 goals

While they have continued to score freely, Palace have leaked a few goal themselves lately. Seven of Huddersfield's last eight games have seen a goal in the last five minutes and Palace's habit of conceding a late one means we can rightfully expect chances right up until the final kick of the game. That makes the 2.96 about over 3.5 goals look attractive.

Other Bets

First goalscorer Andre Moritz @ 9.4

Back Over 3.5 goals @ 2.96