Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace prediction, H2H and probable lineups - August 31, 2025
One of the fixtures of the third round of the English Premier League will take place on Sunday at Villa Park in Birmingham, where the local side Aston Villa will host Crystal Palace. I suggest betting on goals in this encounter, as there are solid chances for success.
Match preview
Aston Villa have not had the best start to the new Premier League season — just one point and zero goals scored after two rounds. Unai Emery's side have shown solidity at the back, conceding just once, but their attacking play has been extremely lackluster, especially considering they haven't found the net in three straight matches. Still, Villa Park remains a real fortress: 19 league matches unbeaten at home.
The team will be eager to make the most of their home advantage and bounce back in front of their fans. Emery is likely to shake up the attacking line — perhaps opting for a more aggressive start and greater control of the tempo. With better finishing, Aston Villa are quite capable of getting back to winning ways.
Crystal Palace continue to play a steady but cautious brand of football — six draws in their last eight matches. Under Oliver Glasner, the Londoners focus on discipline and organisation, which has already helped them earn stalemates against Chelsea and Nottingham Forest in the opening rounds. At the same time, they remain a real threat going forward, especially away from home, where they’ve scored in nine of their last eleven league games.
Squad losses, including the departure of Eberechi Eze, could impact their creativity, but thanks to teamwork and a compact defence, the Eagles are capable of putting up a fight even at Villa Park. Given their long unbeaten run in the league, they're unlikely to travel to Birmingham just to defend — it should be a balanced game with hopes of picking up points.
Probable lineups
- Aston Villa: Martinez, Mings, Cash, Torres, Digne, Onana, McGinn, Kamara, Tielemans, Rogers, Watkins
- Crystal Palace: Henderson, Richards, Lacroix, Mitchell, Munoz, Guehi, Hughes, Wharton, Devenny, Sarr, Mateta
Match facts and head-to-head
- At least one team failed to score in Aston Villa’s last six Premier League matches.
- Crystal Palace have scored in nine of their last eleven Premier League away matches.
- Eight of the last ten head-to-head meetings in the Premier League have seen three or more goals scored.
Prediction
Both teams are solid defensively, but recent head-to-head statistics point to high-scoring affairs. Considering Aston Villa’s form and attacking struggles, as well as Palace’s strong away scoring record, the optimal bet looks to be on over 2.5 goals at odds of 1.95.
