Luton Town vs Crystal Palace Odds
Luton Town Odds | +260 |
Crystal Palace Odds | +110 |
Draw | +230 |
Over / Under | 2.5 +115 / -150 |
Luton Town will be hosting Roy Hodgson and Crystal Palace this Saturday at Kenilworth Road. Luton will be looking to capitalize in their first match outside of the relegation zone while Crystal Palace will be looking to keep picking up points.
Luton currently sit 17th, one spot outside of the relegation zone, and they are looking to pull away even more in this match at Kenilworth Road. Luton are coming off a 1-0 loss at Old Trafford against Manchester United prior to the international break.
Crystal Palace are currently 13th in the Premier League with 15 points. They are coming off an eventful 3-2 loss at home to Everton in their last match prior to the international break.
This may not be the most exciting match this weekend, but nonetheless it is an opportunity to make some money, so let’s get into my Luton Town vs Crystal Palace prediction.
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Luton Town
Luton Town have surprisingly not been as bad as the majority of us may have thought originally. They have been poor, that is for sure, but there have certainly been a few teams that deserve to be below the Hatters.
They have been solid defensively, especially at home this season. They have only conceded seven goals at Kenilworth Road up to this point and their xGA at home is 7.2, so right on par with their actual number. This should be encouraging because if they are able to steal a few points from teams at home then there is a chance of survival.
The two main reasons why they are where they are in the league is due to their away form and their finishing metrics. They have conceded a league-worst 17.5 xGA away from home and are underperforming their xG number by almost 4 goals, one of the worst in the league.
The defensive efficiency at home should only be improved when Sambi Lokonga comes back in early December. But for the time being, Marvelous Nakamba and Ross Barkley have both been very serviceable double pivots up to this point. Barkley specifically has been very impressive, not only because of his passing ability, but he has been efficient in tracking back and breaking up play in the middle of the park.
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace have been very good defensively, both at and away from Selhurst Park. They have the eighth-best xGA tally away from home in the Premier League this season and will look to improve that number this weekend.
Roy Hodgson has made Crystal Palace a very organized side, which has been exemplified by how good their defense has been. With players like Andersen and Guehi in the middle, along with Ward and Mitchell as fullbacks, this is one of the most balanced backlines in the league.
Ward and Guehi give this backline a strong defensive mindset, which gives Andersen and Mitchell the freedom to push forward and give Eze and Olise help in the attack. The returns of Eze and Olise are massive as well. They looked much more efficient going forward against a solid Everton side before the international break. In fact, it was the highest xG tally they racked up all season.
With most of the side healthy this week, I anticipate Rodgson to put out a full-strength lineup for the first time all season, with both Eze and Olise. When they are both on the pitch at the same time it allows for Palace to gain a lot more width as defenses are not able to overload one side. We saw how dangerous they looked on both sides when Olise came on against Everton and I expect more of the same this week.
Luton Town vs Crystal Palace
Prediction
This will be an interesting match to watch because it is going to be more of a tactical battle than anything. I would give the edge to Crystal Palace to win the match just based on the amount of young talent that they have, but I do not have any value at all on either side to bet on them.
Instead, I will be taking both teams to score in this match. Even though both of these sides have solid defensive records, Luton have scored in all but one league match at home this season, and Palace have scored in all but one away match so far this season. I expect this to continue.
I can easily see this match finishing 1-1 because both managers have got these sides organized and playing some good football, which their league position may not entirely tell the whole story.