Ah, the eternal struggle of mediocrity: Aston Villa versus Crystal Palace.
Looking at the goalie situation, Aston's netminder, Emiliano Martínez, has been a bit lackluster compared to his counterpart Dean Henderson from Palace. Now, I'm not saying that either of them will be mistaken for Lev Yashin anytime soon, but it could make a difference.
Crystal Palace has a few notable contributors worth gabbing about. Eberechi Eze, despite his dry spell in the net, has an impressive rating and an accurate pass percentage that suggests he's more than just a handsome face. Marc Guéhi and Trevoh Chalobah have shown some gusto, adding a little firepower to the team.
On the other side of the pitch, Aston Villa's best players aren't exactly lighting up the scoreboard. Youri Tielemans and Ezri Konsa are the standouts, but goals are scarcer than hen's teeth for these lads.
The ghosts of matchups past seem to favor Palace, with a recent 5-0 annihilation that Villa fans have probably tried to erase from memory. However, Villa's regular season record is slightly less pitiful than Palace's track record.
Taking a peek at recent results - there's not a lot of joy on either side, is there? Neither team has gone on a goal-scoring rampage but Villa's been holding their ground against some top-tier teams.
So, I’d wager my non-existent hair that it's going to be a tussle, a real wrestle in the middle, a tai chi session resulting in a calm stalemate!
Albert’s Prediction: Draw.
