Wolves v Crystal Palace: Eagles can escape Wolves' lair unscathed | OneFootball

English Premier League

Palace boss Oliver Glasner has more to smile about after back-to-back wins

Crystal Palace picked up their first league win of the season last week, while Wolves are still looking for theirs. Kevin Hatchard doesn't think it'll arrive on Saturday evening...

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Wolves v Crystal PalaceSaturday 02 November, 17:30

O'Neil trying to stay calm under pressure

With Wolves second-bottom with just two points and no wins, you'd think manager Gary O'Neil would be feeling the heat, but he has refused to characterise the forthcoming games against Crystal Palace and Southampton as must-win. He remains convinced that the Old Gold will avoid relegation, but despite the club's staunch backing, O'Neil has been in the game long enough to know that results are king.

It certainly appears that the Wolves players haven't given up on their manager. Last weekend they fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Brighton. Extraordinarily, Brighton had a four-on-one situation at 2-1 up in the closing stages, but Mats Wieffer blew it, half the team was caught upfield, and Wolves went up the other end and scored.

The big issue is that Wolves simply can't stop leaking goals. They have conceded a league-high 25 times in nine games, and you have to back to late February for their last Premier League clean sheet. Since that 1-0 win over Sheffield United, they have conceded multiple goals 16 times in 21 top-flight matches.

Mario Lemina is expected to feature after recovering from a calf problem, but Hwang Hee-Chan is still struggling with an ankle injury.

Bright week has given Glasner breathing space

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner is experienced enough to cope with the ups and downs of management. He wasn't over the top when Palace were beating all comers at the end of last season, and he struck a realistic tone when the Eagles made a flat start to this campaign.

The summer loss of star player Michael Olise to Bayern Munich and the defection of reliable defender Joachim Andersen to Fulham were always going to have a negative effect. Indeed, Glasner has been critical of the club's transfer policy, a running theme of his managerial career. He was quite happy to comment on player trading at Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt, which contributed to his exits from both clubs.

Palace's first Premier League win of the season arrived last weekend, as Glasner's men edged out Tottenham 1-0. It was a vindication of the Austrian's well-coached pressing game, and the improving Jean-Philippe Mateta scored an early winner. The south London club followed that up with a fine 2-1 win at Aston Villa in the League Cup, as Glasner was rewarded for selecting a strong line-up.

The cost of that decision to go strong may be felt this weekend, as Adam Wharton had to go off with a long-standing groin injury, and Ebere Eze suffered a hamstring problem. Both are doubts for the trip to Molineux

Palace can at least avoid defeat

Crystal Palace were pretty awful in their recent 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest, but since then they have pulled off two fine wins against top-half teams, so they should be full of confidence here. The potential loss of Eze to injury is a blow, but against the Premier League's worst defence, the Eagles should still make chances.

I'll back Palace/Draw Double Chance and Jean-Philippe Mateta to have a shot on target at a combined price of evens on the Sportsbook. Mateta made a really slow start to the season (there was a suggestion he was a bit jaded after a long campaign and an Olympic Games with France), but he has hit the target in each of his last two top-flight games, and he scored the winner against Spurs.

Cunha to draw plenty of attention

I don't trust either defence here, so I'll going to start a Bet Builder by backing Both Teams To Score. That has paid out in Wolves' last eight Premier League matches, and four of Palace's nine. You might be a bit put off by Palace's low ratio, but some of that is down to them missing presentable chances, and their attacking play has deserved better.

I'll also feature Wolves forward Matheus Cunha heavily to get our combined price up to 10/3. Cunha has been fouled in all but one of his Premier League appearances this term, and in six of his nine games he's been fouled on multiple occasions, so I'll back him to be fouled twice or more here.

I'll also back Cunha to have at least one shot on target. The former Hertha and Leipzig player has hit the target once or more in seven of his nine top-flight appearances this term.

Recommended bets

Back Palace/Draw Double Chance and Mateta to have a shot on target @ 1/1