Crystal Palace vs Burnley

Crystal Palace vs Burnley

Burnley travel to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace and Ben Steele expects the Clarets to continue their recent good form...

In-form Clarets chasing survival

Over the last five years Sean Dyche has done an excellent job at Burnley, with limited resources he has turned the club into a stable top flight outfit thanks to an organised defence and an ability to hit form at the end of the season.

The same thing looks to be happening again. After a bizarre run of bad luck that saw them have multiple games postponed due to Covid cases and bad weather Burnley had as many as four games in hand on the rest of the league, with that run now behind them Dyche's men are in incredible form.

Their last six games have seen them draw with Arsenal, Watford and Manchester United while winning their last two, against Brighton and Spurs. The only negative result was a 1-0 loss to Liverpool, a game they were certainly not outplayed in.

Burnley are unbeaten in their last four against Crystal Palace, with the South London side failing to score in three of those games. I wouldn't be surprised to see that run continue, so I'm backing Burnley to win @ 4.3.

Zaha and Roberts set to clash on the wing

A big part of the reason for Burnley's success against Palace has been their ability to nullify the talismanic Wilfried Zaha. Even in the 3-3 draw between the sides earlier in the season Zaha was a relatively isolated figure who had no involvement in any of the goals.

Burnley's physical game has been known to get under a few players skin over the years and Zaha certainly has a temper. The last time Saturday's referee Jon Moss was in charge of a Palace game he sent Zaha off for two yellow cards in the first half and a price of 16/5 for the Ivorian to be cautioned in the match is well worth a look as he faces up to Conor Roberts on the wing.

Roberts, who joined Burnley in the summer, seems to have established himself as at fullback for Dyche's side. His arrival into the starting lineup has coincided with his side's uptick in form and he certainly seems to typify the style of defender that Dyche wants from his defenders.

Disciplined and tough in the tackle Roberts will follow Zaha all game and could well get involved in a fiesty encounter. Zaha's direct style will mean Roberts is put under a fair amount of pressure. The Welsh international is 10/3 to be booked himself while a Bet Builder of both Zaha and Roberts to be carded is a massive 22.55.

Weghorst carrying Burnley survival hopes

The January departure of Chris Wood to Newcastle caused a lot of concern amongst Burnley fans, their top scorer over the last few seasons leaving to a relegation rival certainly wasn't ideal. It might, however, have been a blessing in disguise.

Wood was replaced with giant Dutchman Wout Weghorst, who came over from the Bundesliga with a scoring record bettered only by Robert Lewandowski and with some European analysts calling him an upgrade on Wood at the position.

He has certainly hit the ground running, of the five goals Burnley have scored since his arrival Weghorst has been directly involved in three of them - with two assists and a goal, and worrying defenders with his aerial presence.

Palace have only kept one clean sheet since the turn of the year and Weghorst is 23/10 to score anytime. However, considering the Dutchman's aerial ability coupled with Burnley's set piece prowess the value `bet could be to back an OddsBoost of Weghorst to score one or more headed goals @ 14/1.