Wolves v Crystal Palace: Premier League match preview, TV details and free tip

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Wolves v Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Monday.

Where to watch

BT Sport 1, 8.15pm Monday

Best bet

Wolves to win to nil
2pts 11-10 bet365

Team news

Wolves
Nuno Espirito Santo has no new injury concerns and has a fully-fit squad to choose from, although Adama Traore's shoulder problem is being managed through to the end of the season.

Crystal Palace
Patrick van Aanholt will miss the last two games of the season after dislocating his shoulder against Manchester United, and he joins Gary Cahill and James Tomkins on the treatment table. Jeffrey Schlupp returned to the squad on Monday and could step in while Martin Kelly is pushing for a start. Christian Benteke is suspended and will not play again this term.

Match preview

When the Premier League returned from lockdown there was plenty talk of Wolves about making a push for the top four and Crystal Palace potentially sneaking into the European places, but those hopes for both sides are now over.

With Leicester playing Manchester United on the final game of the season, Nuno Espirito Santo's men cannot bridge the current six-point gap in the final two games, while Palace cannot finish in the top half even if they win their final two Premier League engagements.

However, Wolves still have the chance to secure a Europa League spot with five points between themselves in sixth and Burnley in tenth, and that is one key factor in their favour.

Back-to-back defeats to Arsenal and Sheffield United did for their Champions League hopes, while they were also held at Burnley, but they have enjoyed a good record against bottom-half teams since the restart, beating West Ham, Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Everton - all without conceding a goal.

Roy Hodgson's men re-started the season with a 2-0 victory at Bournemouth but, perhaps due to an unkind fixture list, their form has been disastrous since.

The Eagles have been beaten by top-ten sides Liverpool, Leicester, Burnley, Chelsea and Manchester United, and even strugglers Aston Villa proved too strong.

Perhaps more worryingly, the Londoners have failed to score in five of those six fixtures and that has been a problem all season.

Only one team have scored fewer than Palace's 30 goals this season - Norwich City, who have already been relegated - so it is testament to the work Hodgson has done at Selhurst Park that they have already secured their Premier League status for next season.

Wolves have not exactly been prolific in front of goal but they have moulded themselves into a very tough team to beat and Rui Patricio has kept 12 clean sheets this season.

And, in what could be a low-scoring game, it pays to have someone to rely on to find a way through, which is where Wolves score as they can call on Raul Jimenez, whose form has led to plenty of speculation of a big summer move.

The Mexico international has bagged 17 goals in the Premier League this season, with only four players having scored more, while he has notched four since the restart, including in each of the last two games, with all four having been the first of the match.

Although Palace have a good recent record against Wolves and have won on their last two trips to Molineux, Nuno's men have too much to play for and can stop that rot against an injury-hit Eagles side who look ready for their holidays.

Key stat

Crystal Palace have lost their last six games and failed to score in five of them.

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