Sunderland vs Crystal Palace Prediction: Stalemate at the SOL

Sunderland are unbeaten at the Stadium of Light this season in the Premier League and they will look to keep this record intact when Crystal Palace make the trip north on Saturday (15:00 GMT). The Black Cats will be seeking a response to their 3-0 defeat at Brentford earlier in the month.

The visitors are six league matches without a victory so this will be a tough away trip for them. Read on for my Sunderland vs Crystal Palace predictions, alongside the latest match odds and team news.

Team News

Sunderland are missing Arthur Masuaku (ankle), Aji Alese (shoulder) and Bertrand Traore (knee) due to injury.

Habib Diarra and Chemsdine Talbi are both competing in the Africa Cup of Nations final with Senegal and Morocco respectively.

Brian Brobbey is being monitored after a slight hamstring issue he picked up against Everton last time out, so he could be rested as a precaution and Wilson Isidor may be restored to the XI.

Premier League Odds

Daniel Munoz, Cheick Doucoure, Chadi Riad (all knee), Eddie Nketiah, Daichi Kamada (both thigh), Nathaniel Clyne (groin), Rio Cardines (muscle) and Caleb Kporha (back) are all ruled out with injuries for Palace.

Jefferson Lerma will be hoping to return after suffering concussion but Oliver Glasner may stick with Adam Wharton and Will Hughes in midfield for the time being.

Jean-Philippe Mateta will continue to lead the line and he should be supported by Yeremy Pino and January addition Brennan Johnson in attack.

Today's Football Fixtures

Sunderland vs Crystal Palace Odds

Sunderland have won five of their 10 home games in the top flight and they are 7/4 to come out on top here.

The other five have been draws, while the Black Cats have also experienced four stalemates in their past five league outings. The draw is priced at 11/5, which has an implied probability of 31.3%).

Palace are 7/4 to end their losing streak in the Premier League, and the Eagles have prevailed in two of their previous four away trips in the league.

Mateta has eight goals this term and he is the 6/4 favourite to score anytime on Saturday.

Match Result - Draw @ 11/5

Both teams are going to be without some key players on Saturday and given the recent form of the two sides I don't think either of them are in a strong position to claim three points. I would lean towards Sunderland of the two given their impressive home record but four draws from five does have me thinking another stalemate is on the cards.

This is enhanced by the fact that the two teams couldn't be separated when they met at Selhurst Park back in September. The visitors have drawn two of their past three fixtures in the league coming into this contest and given the winless run they are on, a point seems like the best they can hope for going into any game at the moment.

Correct Score - 0-0 @ 15/2

I'm going to go even bolder with my second prediction, which is for this match to finish 0-0. I think 15/2 is an amazing price for this scoreline, particularly as this was the case when the two sides met back in September.

On top of this, four of Palace's seven stalemates in the Premier League this campaign have finished 0-0, including their most recent outing against Aston Villa. The Eagles have failed to score in four of their last six fixtures in the top flight and I can see this trend continuing against a stubborn Sunderland defence that is playing on home turf.

The Black Cats have failed to score in three of their past five games in the league, which includes two 0-0 draws with Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester City.

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