nPower Championship (Tues): Bristol City v Crystal Palace

Championship Tips

 

nPower Championship
Bristol City (19th) v Crystal Palace (22nd)
Tuesday 28th December 2010 – 3pm
Bristol City entertain lowly Crystal Palace on Tuesday at their Ashton Gate ground looking to secure a fourth successive home win in the process.
The Robins will be keen to get back to winning ways following two straight away defeats at Hull City 0-2 & 1-4 at Reading, and where better than The Gate where they are unbeaten in their last six matches. Their home record now reads a far healthier 4-3-4 14/15 following a nightmare start to the season where they endured four straight defeats and a draw.
Solidity is the basis upon which this six game run has been built – they’ve scored ten goals whilst conceding just two, and The Robins have now kept four clean sheets.
Strikers Jonathan Stead and former Bournemouth hitman Brett Pitman (5 goals apiece) lead the way, and Pitman is an assassin in front of goal as his return of 26 goals last season testifies. Fellow forward Scot David Clarkson (3 goals, 1 assist) has also chipped in, along with midfielders Marvin Elliott (3 goals, 1 assist) and Albert Adomah (3 goals, 5 assists) who’ve also contributed.
The Robins’ opponents today are Crystal Palace who have suffered five straight defeats away from home whilst conceding 14 goals and scoring just 7 goals in the credit column. Perhaps no surprise then that they possess the worst goal difference stats of -16 as part of an away record which makes for dismal reading; 1-1-9 9/27. Only Leicester City (28 goals) have conceded more on the road.
Most alarmingly is their statistic of drawing a blank on six out of their nine away matches as they really struggle to find the back of their opponents nets.
Former Everton striker James Vaughan (5 goals) heads the scoring charts along with midfielder Neil Danns (5 goals, 3 assists), but too often their efforts are in vain with a defence reminiscent of a sieve.
Head-to-head: Bristol City have won their last three encounters with The Eagles, with The Robins winning 1-0 on each occasion.
The Verdict: Bristol City have the momentum at home, while The Eagles have a woeful away record going into this match.
Pick: Bristol City @ 1.97 with Pinnacle Sports looks a good bet