Sunderland vs Crystal Palace Betting Tips & Predictions

Sunderland looked destined for the Championship back at the start of the season when they were hammered by Leicester and Norwich in their opening two games and then failed to win any of their first nine matches. However, credit to Sam Allardyce he has managed to pick up an acceptable amount of points recently to try and tease them out of the Premier League relegation zone. They are now just one point adrift of 18th placed Newcastle and 17th placed Norwich, and a win on Tuesday could see them lifted out of the drop zone.

Crystal Palace were flying high earlier in the season but are now in the midst of a torrid spell of form. Despite their early season success they aren’t safe yet. They have slipped down to 14th in the table and are now just eight points outside the relegation positions. Relegation for Palace would be a huge shock considering they were close to the top four a few short months ago.

Sunderland’s problems have undoubtedly been defensive this season. They have the joint worst defensive record in the Premier League along with Norwich, a record which leaves them in the drop zone despite them having the best attacking record out of the bottom seven sides. But once again, credit to Allardyce. Big Sam has managed to plug a few leaks in their back line and have now only conceded six in their last five games, including matches against Liverpool, Man City, and Man United.

The visit of Crystal Palace will be a match that Big Sam is looking forward too, as the visitors have only managed to score nine goals in their last 14 games. This lack of ability to break through an improving Sunderland defence could be a problem for Alan Pardew, just as it was for the much better but still lacklustre Manchester United a few weeks ago. I fancy Jermain Defoe and company to have a good go of it here, and with Sunderland knowing that they need wins under their belts I think they can get the better of their visitors for at least a portion of the match. Odds of 8/11 for Sunderland to Win Either Half look really good value to me, and a 1-0 Sunderland win looks good.

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