Brighton vs Crystal Palace prediction: Albion too good for improving rivals

Crystal Palace make the trip down the M23 to take on Brighton in Sunday’s early kick-off, looking to continue their recent good form, which has seen them lose just one of their last eight matches (2pm, Sky Sports Main Event).

It was only a few weeks ago that the pressure was mounting on Palace boss Oliver Glasner with his side taking nine games to win their first league game of the season and betting sites had him at 6/1 to be sacked on 12 November, but he’s now at 66/1.

That first win came at home to Tottenham Hotspur in October and since then they have beaten Ipswich and drawn with Wolves, Aston Villa, Newcastle and most recently Manchester City.

They twice took the lead against the champions through Daniel Munoz and Maxence Lacroix before Erling Haaland and Rico Lewis cancelled them out to earn 10-man City a point after Lewis also saw red.

That point took them four points clear of the bottom three, but they are 11 points behind Sunday’s opponents Brighton who sit in seventh place with 24 points on the board.

The Seagulls go into the game without a win in their last three though after drawing with Southampton and Leicester and being beaten 3-1 at Fulham.

The home side are no bigger than 10/11 on betting apps, while Palace are 16/5 and you can get 3/1 on a draw.

Stats say there will be goals in this one, with only one of the last 15 meetings between the two sides ending goalless and only three times have both sides failed to score.

1-1 has been the most common scoreline between the two sides in recent years including four of their last six meetings and you can get 7/1 on that scoreline this time around on Premier League betting sites.

The Seagulls won the last meeting at the Amex 4-1 in February, with Lewis Dunk, Jack Hinshelwood, Facundo Buonanotte and Joao Pedro all on target.

They haven’t gone more than three games without a win under new boss Fabian Hurzeler and we’re not expecting them to start this weekend, but we do expect them to also concede.

Brighton vs Crystal Palace prediction: Brighton to win & BTTS - 13/5 Bet365

Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta has now been involved in 21 goals in his last 30 appearances for the Eagles, with 18 goals and three assists.

When he scored the winner against Ipswich, just over a week ago, he took his tally to 11 for the season if you include those he scored for France in this summer’s Olympic Games. He scored five goals, in six matches, as he helped his country reach the final where they were beaten by Spain.

In the league, he has just four goals and he will want to improve on that before the end of the year, starting on Sunday.

Football betting sites are offering 17/2 on him scoring first or last, or 3/1 on him scoring any time. In the three league games he’s scored in this season he has scored last on each occasion - two of them were the only goal of the game so he also scored first!

Brighton vs Crystal Palace prediction: Mateta to score the last goal - 17/2 Bet Victor

When having a bet, it’s vital to practice responsible gambling.

Betting can be addictive and it’s important to stay in control of your betting. Never treat gambling as a way to make money, never bet more than you can afford and when the fun stops, stop.

Gambling sites offer punters tools, like deposit limits, profit and loss trackers and self-exclusion options, to help them stay in control.

But if you ever feel like you need help or advice on gambling addiction, don’t hesitate to contact one of the charities or organisations below.

We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.