Eng. Championship
2012-09-22 - Crystal Palace vs Cardiff City
A Sports Betting Pick by Addicted
Football : England : Championship
Saturday, September 12nd, 2012, 3:00PM GMT
PREVIEW
Crystal Palace started the season very poorly, with 3 straight losses, conceding 10 goals at Middlesborough, Bristol City and Preston while managing just 1 themselves per game. Since then they have turned things around a bit. The next 3 games have netted them 2 wins and a draw. They are now up to 16th, but play stiff opposition as Cardiff come here in excellent form themselves.
Cardiff, sitting 6th, have now reeled off 3 very good wins, beating Wolverhampton 3-1, Leeds 2-1, and most recently Millwall 2-0. They are on the road again, and you have to fancy them at the prices available, because their defence is really looking good. Cardiff City have conceded 6 in 6 games, but 4 came in a poor day out at Bristol City, their only loss this season, and even there they got their punches in, scoring 2.
The head-to-head suggests this might prove a tough one for Crystal Palace, who have beaten Cardiff just once over their last dozen matches, losing half. When hosting Cardiff, Palace struggle to keep them out, allowing 8 goals in their last 6 meetings here. This season they've not managed to keep a clean sheet at home, and if you go back to last season you'll find it's now 8 home league matches for Palace without a clean sheet.
What puts me off Cardiff a little bit is the fact they have now won 3 straight games in the league. Because let's face it, it's not easy winning 4 in a row, as there has to be a letdown at some point. That's just the way it goes, and Palace seem to be one of those sides that will scrap hard in this one, just as they did at Charlton where they earned an unlikely 1-0 win away from home.
BETTING VERDICT
I quite like Cardiff to win this one, but I'm going to chance another bet, on the goalscorer market.
Peter Whittingham seems to be on form, as the Cardiff man has scored 5 goals in his last 3 games. Why not bet on him to score at any time, leaving us unaffected by the result, especially since he also scored in both meetings between the 2 sides last year?
The Pick :
Cardiff City
