Patrick Viera’s Eagles host Dean Smith’s Canaries in what looks like an interesting clash on Tuesday afternoon. Crystal Palace enter the match without their talisman Wilfried Zaha who at 29 still manages to delight and frustrate fans in equal measure. He’s serving a one match suspension for a career quickest red card after 37 minutes against Tottenham, which ended in his team losing 3-0. They were hampered last week by positive Covid cases including the manager, Eze, Benteke, and Milivojevic among others, who were absent from the game against Spurs. They may be unable to field all their absentees, but their eligibility will be reassessed via PCR on Tuesday.
The weakened Palace squad will level the playing field for struggling Norwich, but they also are facing some injury setbacks. The greatest Scotland centre-back of his generation and Norwich captain is facing time out with a shoulder injury and similarly veteran shot-stopper Tim Krul is still on the sidelines. Replacing these two are the slightly greener and less reliable Kabak and Gunn who struggle to provide the stability that the former two offer.
Both teams will look to return to winning ways from their respective 12th and 20th places in the table. Norwich enters with just 2 points from their last 6 league games and seem miles away from their two back-to-back wins and a draw that signalled the arrival of Dean Smith in November. Palace have managed a similar tally with 4 points in their last six, however, they boast one of the best home records in the league and have not tasted defeat to Norwich in their last five meetings. We’re all set for a scrappy game on Tuesday with Paul Tierney in charge of the action, so I’ve selected three tips for a bet builder and a Cheat Sheet to help you get in on the action! Good Luck!
Crystal Palace vs Norwich Bet Builder Tips
Over 1.5 Goals
My first tip for Tuesday’s game is for two or more goals to be scored for both teams combined. The first reason for this is Palace’s impressive home record for producing goals at both ends. Apart from their first game of the season, there have been over 1.5 goals scored in all their last 8 home fixtures. They have not been short of scoring goals either with 2 or more put away by the Eagles in 7 of their last 11 games. With their goalscoring prowess has come an equal measure to concede goals with a reflective 2 or more conceded in 7 of their last 13 at home. The concern this week is that the absence of Zaha will make it difficult to create and score goals, but I think this is not a huge problem coming up against a weak Norwich team. Palace goals are evenly dispersed throughout the team, and they will still field attacking threats in Ayew, Edouard, and top scorer and assister Conor Gallagher.
The second reason for this is Norwich’s lackluster away record especially in recent matches. Although Carrow Road can’t be considered a fortress this season it does appear that they perform better under the protecting gaze of Delia Smith. In their last eight away games over 1.5 goals have been scored in six of them. Aside from one away win to Brentford in November, they have not managed to outperform any other side this season on the road. Their last game hosting arsenal cemented their role as the 2nd leakiest defence in the league behind Newcastle with 39 goals conceded so far after their 5-0 defeat. They are seriously lacking additional firepower with a whopping 5 of their 8 goals coming from Teemu Pukki. The responsibility for goals this week will certainly fall on Palace, I think that their great home form combined with Norwich’s leaky defence and dismal away record will provide over 1.5 goals on Tuesday at odds 1/4.
Billy Gilmour to be Carded
My next selection for Tuesday’s game is Scotland’s own Iniesta to find himself in the ref’s book. Billy Gilmour has cemented himself into the Norwich midfield following the appointment of Dean Smith. Daniel Farke consigned the on-loan Chelsea player to the wilderness at the start of the season much to the dismay of every Scotland fan with a set of working eyes. Since then, he has been a standout player for Norwich this season with more than one man of the match awards rewarding his manager’s confidence in him. This week I believe he may find himself on the wrong end of a card against Palace.
Firstly, even if Covid dampens the Palace starting XI, their midfielders facing up against Gilmour are a foul drawing minefield. Olise, Gallagher, Hughes consistently draw fouls when they play and Milivojevic and Kouyate have the stature to bully and frustrate smaller players out of the game. Crystal Palace have retained the ball well at home even against big teams like Tottenham managing 59.8% possession this season, this means that there will be greater periods without the ball for Gilmour to misstep and foul. Gilmour is no saint himself with an impressive 2.24 fouls per game and 2 yellow cards this season. With Paul Tierney averaging around 4 yellows per game this season I think Gilmour looks great value for a booking at Selhurst Park with odds of 16/5.
Conor Gallagher to have 1+ Shot on target
In the absence of Zaha, it is undoubtably Conor Gallagher is the main man for Palace this week. The midfielder has been a revelation this season topping the scoring charts with 6 and the assisting charts with 3. His form has called for an England cap consideration and potentially a featuring role at his parent club Chelsea. Considering his prolific season so far, he looks the best value among the two teams for a shot on target.
He will be relishing the prospect of coming up against Norwich’s second-string centre back and second-string goalkeeper on Tuesday. The midfielder attempts over 2 shots per game with a respectable 0.85 of those managing to hit the target. Around half of these attempted shots come from outside the area and I suspect this will be even greater if he is looking to test the keeper. His ability to shoot from outside the box provides value in these odds if Norwich decide to park the bus. If Milivojevic can’t make the squad, he will be the designated free kick taker which you can expect a long-range effort from the youngster. Tuesday will provide the opportunity for Gallagher to be star player for Crystal Palace considering Zaha’s unceremonious dismissal. I think he’s a good pick for a shot on target against a struggling Norwich as he looks to step up to the plate with odds of 2/7.
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Crystal Palace vs Norwich Cheat Sheet
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How to watch Crystal Palace vs Norwich in the Premier League
📅 When is Crystal Palace vs Norwich? / Tuesday, 28 December 2021, 15:00
🏟 Where is Crystal Palace vs Norwich? / Selhurst Park (London)
📺 What TV Channel is Crystal Palace vs Norwich on? / Prime Video
📱 Online Live Streaming for Crystal Palace vs Norwich / bet365
🟨 …And who is the referee for Crystal Palace vs Norwich? / Paul Tierney 🏴
