Crystal Palace v Watford: Hornets set for sting

Crystal Palace v Watford
Tuesday, 20:00

Palace pay the penalty

Now he's got his slippers under the table, Roy Hodgson has certainly made Crystal Palace hard to beat.
It's now just one defeat in seven for the Eagles and that was a 1-0 defeat to Spurs at Wembley.

But wins are still hard to come by. Palace have become the Premier League's draw specialists and a 2-2 stalemate against Bournemouth on Saturday was their fifth 'D' in the last seven matches.

A brighter picture can be painted when focusing solely on home form. At Selhurst Park, Hodgson's men have secured three wins and three draws in their last six matches and the balance would have tipped four-two had Christian Benteke not fluffed a stoppage-minute penalty in the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth on Saturday.

That miss means Palace are bottom of the table with just 11 points from 16 matches.

Watford deserve respect on the road

Watford have done their best stuff on the road this season and a tally of four away wins is the same as Man Utd and Liverpool and bettered only by Man City and Chelsea.

They've achieved that record by scoring freely and their tally of 15 away goals puts them third in the 'For' column on the road.

Until the 1-0 defeat at Burnley last time, they'd also netted at least two goals in every away game. For that record to end, they were reduced to 10 men after 39 minutes and up against a team sat seventh in the table so it was hardly a disgrace.

And yet, their flying start is rather stalled. Defeat at Turf Moor made it five losses in their eight Premier League starts so are we seeing a reversion to the mean?

Watford lie ninth although over the last six matches they've taken exactly the same number of points (seven) as Palace.

Palace favoured

I have a feeling that Benteke's decision to defy club orders and take the ball off Luka Milivojevic for Palace's second penalty against Bournemouth could come back to bite them on the backside.

The Belgian's miss denied Hodgson's men a crucial win and ending the weekend back at the very bottom of the table was definitely bad for morale.

Watford are dangerous wildcards as they go for it on their travels and boss Marco Silva will know how to pick holes in the Palace defence.

Palace do find the net at home (unlike on the road where they've managed a single Premier League goal) so I'll boost up the basic win price and take Watford to win and both teams to score at 5/1.

As a small saver, I'll also back the 2-2 scoreline as Palace have had three of those in their last four homes games. It's an attractive 15.00 to land again.

Overs appeals

It's pretty much a pick 'em in the 2.5 goals market with Unders 1.97 and Overs 1.95.

I'd much rather play Overs as it's landed in Palace's last five home games and in all but one of Watford's last six on the road.

Ref watch

Lee Mason sent off Marco Arnautovic in his first Premier League match of the season but he's been pretty calm in seven top-flight fixtures since, booking just 14 players.

As a good omen, he was the man in the middle when Watford landed their last away win and BTTS, a 2-1 success at Swansea. He booked three Hornets players that day.

It's his first game at Selhurst Park since Palace's 2-1 defeat to Arsenal in August, 2015.

Recommended Bets
1pt Watford to Win and Both Teams To Score at 5/1 (Sportsbook)
0.5pts 2-2 Correct Score at 15