Eng. Championship
2011-10-01 - Crystal Palace vs West Ham
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : English Championship
Saturday 1 October 2011 - Kickoff 3pm
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace fans will have been very happy with their side who destroyed Brighton away from home during the week- Palace and Brighton have a long history of rivalry so it is understandable why the fans will be happy. Now they have a chance to beat another local rival on Saturday.
The Eagles will be surprising many with their position in the Championship- the win over Brighton means they moved up to 9th in the table and they are only 6 points behind the leaders. Palace are 2-1-1 at Selhurst Park this season, scoring 5 goals and conceding 3.
Palace have played 12 games in all competitions this season and only 1 of those have ended with the points shared. They had lost 3 consecutive games in the Championship before beating Brighton during the week. Palace have won 5 of 7 games at home in all comeptitions, but they have failed to win any of their last 2 in the League in front of their own fans.
Nathaniel Clyne could be included in the Palace squad for the first time this season, but Lee Mills, Owen Garvan and Kagisho Dikgacoi are all missing.
West Ham
Sam Allardyce and West Ham sent a cheeky offer to Manchester City today asking if they could take Carlos Tevez on loan, an offer which was swiftly rejected. Now they can concentrate on the realities of life in the Championship and getting a little bit closer to the top teams.
The Hammers have quietly moved up into 4th place in the Championship and have picked up 17 points from their opening games of the season. They have an impressive 3-1-0 away record, scoring 9 goals and conceding 1, and are only 2 points behind Middlesbrough and Southampton in the automatic promotion spots.
West Ham continue to find it tougher to play at Upton Park and lost only their 2nd game of the seaon, both at home, when losing 0-1 to Ipswich during the week. A worry for Sam Allardyce may be the fact they have scored just 1 goal in 3 games and they failed to score in their last away game at Millwall having plundered 8 goals in their previous 2 away games at Nottingham Forest and Watford.
Manual Almunia has been brought in from Arsenal on an emergency loan after Robert Green was ruled out for a month with an injury. Frederic Piquionne is back from suspension, but Joey O'Brien, Matt Taylor and Winston Reid are all doubts.
Head to Head
Crystal Palace have won 2 of their last 3 games against West Ham at Selhurst Park, although the last of these took place in the 2003/04 season.
Prediction
It has been quite difficult picking winners in games involving these two teams as they both have flattered to deceive in some and then produced some real quality performances in others.
I am instead focusing on the goals market and am picking the last goal to come in the 73rd minute until the end of the game at 2.00 with Paddy Power.
Crystal Palace have scored 6 of their 10 League games in the last 12 minutes of games, while West Ham scored late goals at Watford and Nottingham Forest.
Add in the fact that the Hammers have lost 2 games this season with goals scored in the final minute and it looks reasonable to think the fans will be treated to a goal in the last 17 minutes of the match.
The Pick :
Crystal Palace 2-2 West Ham
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Time of Last Goal 73 minutes or after @ 2.00 (Paddy Power)
