Crystal Palace vs Leicester Prediction: No Selhurst Park treats for starving Foxes

Two teams awaiting their first Premier League wins of the season meet at Selhurst Park on Saturday (15:00) as Crystal Palace host Leicester City. The Eagles lost their first two games away to Brentford (2-1) and home to West Ham United (0-2) before holding Chelsea to a 1-1 draw last time out, while the Foxes followed up a 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur (H) with 2-1 defeats to Fulham (A) and Aston Villa (H).

Read on for my Crystal Palace vs Leicester prediction and all the latest team news ahead of this contest in SE25.

Team News

Matheus Franca hasn't played for Crystal Palace since Oliver Glasner's first game in charge, a 3-0 victory over Burnley at Selhurst Park on February 24, with a groin injury ruling him out for the rest of the 2023/24 season. The 20-year-old is reportedly making strides in his comeback but is not yet at the required level to be considered for selection.

Meanwhile, 21-year-old Moroccan defender Chadi Riad, a summer signing from Real Betis, suffered ligament damage in the Eagles' 4-0 Carabao Cup win against Norwich City last month and is expected to miss the entirety of September.

Deadline day arrivals Maxence Lacroix (Wolfsburg), Trevoh Chalobah (Chelsea) and Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal) are in line to make their debuts on Saturday, with one of Lacroix or Chalobah likely to come in from the start at the back.

Adam Wharton withdrew from England U21s duty at the beginning of last week but should be fine to take his place in the middle of midfield against Leicester.

Football Odds

Polish goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk and Zambian striker Patson Daka are still injured for the visitors, while Odsonne Edouard is ineligible to face his parent club after joining the Foxes on loan on deadline day.

Jamie Vardy is likely to lead the line again but there could be a couple of changes behind the 37-year-old, with Brighton & Hove Albion loanee Facundo Buonanotte pushing for a start after scoring within six minutes of his introduction against Villa before the international break.

Stephy Madividi is another attacker in contention to start on Saturday, with ex-Palace man Jordan Ayew's spot most at risk.

Crystal Palace vs Leicester Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Crystal Palace vs Leicester page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Palace are 3/5 to pick up their first three points of the campaign, giving them an implied win probability of 62.5%, while Leicester are 4/1, or a 20% chance, to secure their first Premier League victory.

The draw is priced at 3/1, both teams to score at 8/11, and over 2.5 total goals at 4/6.

Eberechi Eze (21/20) is the favourite in the anytime scorer market, followed by Palace teammate Jean-Philippe Mateta (11/8), while Vardy (12/5) is considered the Foxes' most likely scorer.

Match Result & Total Goals Over/Under 3.5 - Crystal Palace Win & Under 3.5 Goals @ 11/8

Palace made a poor start to the season with defeats to Brentford and West Ham but a Carabao Cup thrashing of Norwich and a draw at Chelsea should have instilled some confidence back into the side, which now looks much stronger with the additions of Chalobah, Lacroix and Nketiah.

The visit of Leicester to Selhurst Park is sure to be welcomed, too, with the Foxes off the back of two league defeats to Fulham and Villa, either side of a 4-0 win against League 2 side Tranmere Rovers in the Carabao Cup.

Cooper and the club were given a big boost last week after winning an appeal against a decision that could have led to a points deduction for an alleged breach of Premier League profit and sustainability rules (PSR).

However, that does little to improve their chances on the field, with their crop of players considerably less talented than those in the Palace ranks.

Saturday's hosts will be circling this as a must-win fixture given that they are yet to triumph in the league and face another winless side, a newly-promoted one, at home.

The Foxes have shown that they are no pushovers, though, holding Spurs to a draw and only losing narrowly in defeats to Fulham and Villa. All three matches ended with under 3.5 total goals, a statistic matched by Palace's Premier League outings so far.

A 2-0 or 2-1 Palace victory looks the most likely scoreline here, so I'm taking a home win and under 3.5 goals at 11/8.

Bet Builder - Half-time/Full-time - Crystal Palace/Crystal Palace, Crystal Palace Over 13.5 Shots, Crystal Palace Over 4.5 Corners @ 3/1

For my second and final tip, I've made three selections in a 3/1 bet builder, all centred around Palace.

Firstly, I'm backing the Eagles to head into the interval with the lead and hold onto it in the second half. I've already discussed the reasons why I think they will win, and at home, they should be attacking from the off to get into the ascendancy as early as possible. Leicester have conceded first in all three Premier League games so far and were a goal down at half-time in two of them - against Spurs and Villa.

Next, I'm taking Palace to record at least 14 shots, something they managed in their first two league games against Brentford and West Ham, and in their Carabao Cup victory over Norwich, taking exactly 14 in all three. Glasner's side only took nine shots at Stamford Bridge last time out but that was, on paper, one of their trickiest away assignments of the campaign, and they should be firing off shots from all angles at home to a side like Leicester.

Palace have taken at least 14 shots in eight of the Austrian's nine home matches in charge, only going under in a 2-4 defeat to Premier League champions Manchester City on April 6.

Lastly, I've selected Saturday's hosts to take at least five corners, which they have done four times at Selhurst Park under Glasner, and once already this season at Brentford (seven). Leicester conceded 13 corners to Spurs, seven to Fulham, and four to Villa, and with Palace likely to be placing an emphasis on attack, I think the Foxes could be facing a barrage of corners again this weekend.

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