Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace. Premier League.
Villa ParkAttendance28,245.
Tuesday 12 January 2016 20:31, UK
Micah Richards is expected to be fit when relegation-haunted Aston Villa take on Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Tuesday night.
Richards (ankle) was forced off in the FA Cup draw at Wycombe but boss Remi Garde believes his skipper will be available as the beleaguered bottom club - 11 points from safety - look for their first league win since the opening day of the season.
A section of Villa supporters vented their frustration as their players boarded the bus after Saturday's 1-1 draw against fourth-tier opposition but their patience could well be tested against as a Palace side who have lost just twice on their travels come to town.
Team news
While Richards has given Garde a boost, Carlos Sanchez and Alan Hutton (both hamstring) are out, along with Adama Traore (foot), Gabriel Agbonlahor (back) and Jack Grealish (tonsilitis).
Charles N'Zogbia and Libor Kozak are available but are not expected to feature with Garde prepared to let them leave this month.
Yannick Bolasie and Dwight Gayle will be absent for Crystal Palace but Bakary Sako could be involved after coming back at the weekend against Southampton.
Connor Wickham also returns to Palace's squad after a calf injury, while Yohan Cabaye should be fit despite picking up a slight knock against the Saints.
Opta stats
The last seven league meetings between Aston Villa and Crystal Palace have produced just 10 goals.
Aston Villa are currently on a 19-game winless run in the Premier League (D5 L14); the joint-fourth longest run in Premier League history (alongside Nottingham Forest in 1998-99).
The only longer winless runs in the competition since its inception in 1992 are Derby County (32 games), Sunderland (26 games) and Norwich City (21 games).
Crystal Palace have failed to score a goal in their last three Premier League games - they haven't gone without a goal in four successive top-flight matches since Feb 1998 (five games).
Aston Villa players have embarked on the most dribbles in the Premier League so far in 2015-16 (546) but only one club (Newcastle, 41.6 per cent) has a lower dribble success rate than the Villans (43.4 per cent).
Just one of Crystal Palace's 23 Premier League goals this season has been scored by a recognised striker, and that was a penalty (Wickham versus Stoke on Dec 19).
A Premier League-high 47.8 per cent of Crystal Palace's goals this season have been scored from set-piece situations.
Betting
Crystal Palace are Sky Bet's 7/5 favourites ahead of their trip to bottom club Aston Villa (2/1). Last year's meeting at Villa Park ended goalless and a repeat of that outcome is 7/1 with a draw of any kind a 9/4 shot.
Soccer Saturday pundits Matt Le Tissier and Charlie Nicholas are both tipping Palace to secure the points.
