Preview: Crystal Palace vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers - prediction, team news, lineups

Fresh off a stunning 2-2 draw with Arsenal from 2-0 down, bottom-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers travel to Selhurst Park to take on Crystal Palace in Sunday’s Premier League fixture, aiming to improve on a dismal record in the capital.

Despite blowing a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 to second-bottom Burnley in their last league game, Palace have claimed five consecutive top-flight home wins against Sunday’s round 27 visitors, and they chase a sixth in South London.

Match preview

Just over a week after an unforeseen collapse in front of their supporters, Palace return to Selhurst Park chasing a first top-flight home win in South London since November.

Oliver Glasner’s men thought their three-month wait was over after going 2-0 up against Burnley, only for the Eagles to concede three times in eight minutes to fall 3-2 behind before the break.

Unable to equalise despite attempting 15 shots after the interval, the South London club suffered their 10th league defeat of the season, five of which have been in their own backyard.

Now aiming to respond to that disappointing reverse, the home supporters enter Sunday’s contest aware of their team’s impressive record against this weekend’s visitors from the West Midlands.

Only once in the last 10 top-flight meetings have Palace been defeated by Wolves – a 2-0 loss at Molineux in April 2023.

Since that defeat, Palace have claimed 13 points from the next five contests, highlighting their dominance and why they enter round 27 as favourites for maximum points despite winning just one of their last 11 league matches.

That notion is supported by Wolves’ recent visits to Selhurst Park, where they have been beaten in six consecutive trips, losing 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, 3-2 and 4-2, an aggregate of 12-5.

Rob Edwards’s only consolation, however, apart from their recent draw with Arsenal after trailing 2-0, is that the West Midlands side have netted in three consecutive visits to the South London club after failing to score in 1-0 and 2-0 defeats in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.

That statistic mirrors their broader record in the capital, where their only victory came in November 2024’s success at Fulham, whom they beat 4-2.

However, with eight losses and two draws around that period in visits to London, the visitors will dread another trip to the home of a side they historically struggle against.

Despite an FA Cup win on the road at League Two outfit Grimsby Town, which halted a 13-match winless streak on their travels, Edwards’s team have their work cut out to replicate that outcome in South London.

With no team scoring fewer than Wolves’ five away goals and no club across England’s four tiers going as many matches on the road without winning, the travelling fans would be forgiven for expecting further disappointment in the capital on Sunday.

Crystal Palace Premier League form:

Crystal Palace form (all competitions):

Wolverhampton Wanderers Premier League form:

Wolverhampton Wanderers form (all competitions):

Team News

Chadi Riad faces a late fitness test ahead of Sunday, as does Maxence Lacroix, who was replaced just after the hour in Thursday’s Conference League knockout playoff first-leg clash against Zrinjski.

However, confirmed absentees include Cheick Doucoure (thigh), Eddie Nketiah (thigh), Jean-Philippe Mateta (knee) and Jefferson Lerma (thigh).

Having only just joined Palace from Wolves last month, Jorgen Strand Larsen bids to become the first man since Henrikh Mkhitaryan in 2017-18 (Manchester United) to score for and against the same team in the same campaign.

In scoring two goals in as many appearances for the Eagles, Strand Larsen has already outdone his one strike in 1,405 minutes for the West Midlands side, highlighting the apparent change in fortune since moving to the capital.

Also possibly pivotal to Palace’s prospects is Ismaila Sarr, who has netted three goals in all competitions in February, including the match-winner at Brighton and the Eagles’ strike in Thursday’s 1-1 draw with Zrinjski.

Although Wolves have avoided defeat in three games across all competitions, with two consecutive league draws, no player in the division’s lowest scorers’ squad has scored more than two; Mateus Mane, Santiago Bueno, Ladislav Krejci, Hwang Hee-chan and Tolu Arokodare have all scored twice.

Notably, both goals scored by Santiago have been on the road, away at Spurs and Liverpool in September and November respectively, and the defender aims for a third at Selhurst Park.

The West Midlands club do not have as many absentees, especially with Angel Gomes passed fit after a back injury.

However, Edwards will have to make do without Hwang (calf), while Toti Gomes’s thigh issue will be assessed.

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:

Henderson; Richards, Canvot, Riad; Munoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell; Sarr, Pino; Strand Larsen

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Sa; Mosquera, Bueno, Krejci; R. Gomes, J. Gomes, Andre, Mane, H. Bueno; Arokodare, Armstrong

We say: Crystal Palace 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolves historically dread trips to the capital, and their dismal away record is unlikely to improve against a side they have not beaten in South London since 2018.

Palace’s superior home form in this fixture and the presence of more in-form match winners in Sarr and Strand Larsen suggest another miserable afternoon for the West Midlands outfit.

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