Crystal Palace vs Wolves preview, team news, stats, kick-off time, live on Sky Sports

James Tomkins remains out for Crystal Palace while Wolves' Rayan Ait-Nouri has been ruled out; follow Crystal Palace vs Wolves on Sky Sports Premier League from 2.30pm on Saturday; kick-off 3pm

Friday 29 January 2021 20:03, UK

Team news and stats ahead of Crystal Palace vs Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday; kick-off 3pm.

Team news

Crystal Palace will again be without centre-back James Tomkins when they host Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday.

The defender missed the midweek defeat to West Ham after he suffered an eye injury in training and was set to see a specialist on Friday to determine the full extent of the issue.

Tomkins joins a growing injury list with Wayne Hennessey (thigh), Nathan Ferguson (knee), Mamadou Sakho (thigh), Jeffrey Schlupp (hamstring) and Connor Wickham (thigh) already sidelined, but new signing Jean-Philippe Mateta can make his debut after he was granted a visa this week.

Wolves' Rayan Ait-Nouri has been ruled out of the contest following his withdrawal at half-time in Wednesday's 0-0 draw with Chelsea due to an abductor problem.

Fellow full-backs Marcal (groin) and Jonny (knee) are also sidelined, along with striker Raul Jimenez (fractured skull).

Morgan Gibbs-White returned to group training on Friday after self-isolating having tested positive for coronavirus.

How to follow

Crystal Palace vs Wolves will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Premier League from 2.30pm on Saturday; kick-off at 3pm. Sky Sports customers can watch in-game clips in the live match blog on the Sky Sports website and app. Free highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.

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Jones Knows' prediction

The world looked a scary place for a while with Crystal Palace soaring above 14th place in the Premier League, a position they have held since football was invented. OK, I jest. It's been 170 days since the start of the 2018/19 season.

Their stint at the giddy heights of 13th lasted only a few days. Palace and 14th are a match made in heaven.

I'm sure many Palace fans will bite your hand off for a 14th place come the end of the season now. Roy Hodgson has got his team playing relegation-standard football again, showcased by their limp performance in the 3-2 defeat to West Ham which flattered the Eagles. Only West Brom (48) have conceded more Premier League goals this season than Crystal Palace (36). The myth surrounding them being defensively sound is now very much in the bin.

This looks a fine opportunity for Wolves to kickstart their season. Nuno Espirito Santo's boys have won the last three meetings in all competitions and all without conceding. It will be a tough watch with them reverting to a more restrictive style of late, but their quality in forward areas with the likes of Pedro Neto and Adama Traore should see them edge ahead. One goal will be enough.

JONES KNOWS PREDICTS: 0-1 (5/1 with Sky Bet)

Opta stats

Crystal Palace have lost their last three matches against Wolves in all competitions, failing to score in each defeat - the Eagles have never lost four in a row against Wolves.
Wolves are looking to complete their first league double over Crystal Palace since 2008/09 in the Championship, while in the top-flight they last did so in 1971/72 under Bill McGarry.
Wolves have already beaten Crystal Palace twice this season, once in the Premier League and once in the FA Cup; they haven't beaten the same team three times in a season since winning three games against Reading in 2002/03.
Crystal Palace are looking to avoid losing three consecutive Premier League games for the first time since a run of seven in June/July 2020. The Eagles have lost 0-4 and 2-3 in their last two games, last losing three in a row while conceding at least three goals each time in November 2016.
Only West Bromwich Albion (48) have conceded more Premier League goals this season than Crystal Palace (36). The Eagles' ratio of 1.8 goals conceded per game is their second highest in a single Premier League campaign, after 1997-98 (1.9).

Wolves are winless in their last seven Premier League games (D3 L4), last having a longer run without victory in the competition between February 2012-August 2018 (17 games).
Only Tottenham have scored more goals in the opening 15 minutes of Premier League games than Crystal Palace this season, with a league-high 29% of the Eagles' goals coming in this timeframe (7/24). Last season, Palace only scored once in the opening 15 minutes.
In their 0-0 draw with Chelsea last time out, Wolves failed to have a single shot on target in a Premier League game for the first time since a 0-1 loss to Huddersfield in February 2019.
Crystal Palace have played more games in the traditional Saturday 3pm slot than any other Premier League side this season (6). The Eagles have won four of their six such games this term (L2), accounting for 67% of their total league victories.
Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha has scored nine goals in 17 Premier League appearances this season - only in 2018-19 (10) has he scored more in a single campaign in the competition.

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