Leeds United will be looking to stretch their unbeaten run to five matches when they make the trip to Crystal Palace on Monday night. The Whites have had a 16-day break from Premier League action and will therefore be hopeful they enter the clash at Selhurst Park fully refreshed for a big run in.
Palace, meanwhile, have played three times since Leeds’ last match and have suffered a dip in form in recent weeks, losing each of those fixtures. Patrick Vieira’s side were defeated 2-0 by Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final last weekend and will be keen to ensure their season does not end on a whimper.
Despite the contrasting run of forms, FiveThirtyEight, a website that uses data to provide predictions on matches and events, believe that Crystal Palace have a 49% of winning, in comparison to Leeds’ 26%. Pundits from across the media have also been giving their views on how they see the match going and LeedsLive have rounded them up for you.
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BBC Sport – Mark Lawrenson
In his latest BBC Sport predictions column, Mark Lawrenson has backed Leeds to continue their good run of form. He said: “Leeds are not quite safe yet, but it is really only a matter of time until they can relax. Jesse Marsch lost his first two games after taking over from Marcelo Bielsa at the start of March, but since then he has won three and drawn one. That is not relegation form.
“Crystal Palace have suffered a little drop in form, losing their past two league games as well as that FA Cup semi-final and I just fancy Leeds to edge this one. Marsch's side play with a lot of energy and and they have had a bit of a break since beating Watford on 9 April, which might make the difference.”
Prediction: Crystal Palace 1-2 Leeds
Sportskeeda – Paul Merson
In his latest weekly predictions for Sportskeeda, Paul Merson thinks Palace will have too much for the Whites. He said: “Burnley's game tonight is a particularly important fixture for Leeds. If Burnley win their next two matches, Leeds are still in danger. The other teams will need to pull up trees to get Leeds back into a relegation fight.
“Crystal Palace are a great team, and I think they'll have too much for Leeds. This is a hard game for Leeds, and I think Palace are the better team at the moment. Crystal Palace should be able to win this game.”
Prediction: Crystal Palace 2-0 Leeds
Betvictor – Michael Owen
Michael Owen has also backed Palace to come out on top in his weekly Betvictor column. He said: “That was a disappointing defeat to Newcastle on Wednesday for Palace. They had plenty of the ball, but just didn’t create enough. The defeat at Wembley to Chelsea was bound to impact them though.
“I think Jesse Marsch has done a very good job at Leeds. Whilst they aren’t quite safe yet, they are now in a good position above the bottom three. That being said, I’m still picking Palace here.”
Prediction: Crystal Palace 2-0 Leeds
