Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa predictions: Victory for Vieira's efficient Eagles

Patrick Vieira's tactical flexibility has brought a new dimension to Crystal Palace's play - so it will be interesting to see how he sets the Eagles up against Aston Villa on Saturday. 

The Frenchman's switch to a back five at Anfield paid off when his hard-working team withstood a late onslaught from Liverpool to earn a deserved point from a 1-1 draw. 

Villa gave their season a shove in the right direction with a 2-1 home win over the blue half of Merseyside. 

But it was more tense than it needed to be at the finish after Lucas Digne's own goal allowed his former club back into the game. 

Steven Gerrard's side appears to be treading water right now and look vulnerable to the sort of attacking threat that Vieira's men have in abundance. 

Team news

Vieira is likely to restore a focal point to Palace's attack after utilising Wilfred Zaha in a roaming forward role at Anfield. 

Odsonne Edouard or Jean-Philippe Mateta are his best options to spearhead the attack with Zaha likely to be deployed back in his usual role on the left flank. 

Michael Olise is pushing for an opportunity to start after getting a few minutes off the bench on his return from injury. 

Joel Ward looks to be the likely fall guy in defence if Vieira reverts to a back four from the system he used on Merseyside. 

Gerrard will choose between Calum Chambers or Ezri Konsa to take the place of injured central defender Diego Carlos, who ruptured his Achilles tendon late on in the Everton win. 

Despite sustaining knocks at Villa Park last Saturday, both full-back Matty Cash and playmaker Philippe Coutinho are fit and available. 

However, Emiliano Buendia boosted his prospects of replacing the Brazilian in Gerrard's starting line-up with a fine cameo, capped by a goal. 

Midfielder Douglas Luiz seems set to remain among the substitutes. 

The stats

These teams cannot currently be separated during the Premier League era with each boasting seven wins apiece from the 20 previous contests, while last May's 1-1 draw at Villa Park was the sixth stalemate in total. 

Only champions Manchester City and runners-up Liverpool kept more home clean sheets than Palace last season as Vieira's men earned nine shutouts in total across their 19 games at Selhurst Park. 

Danny Ings hit Villa's first goal at home to Everton last weekend to make it the 20th time he has scored the opener in the Premier League - more than any other player. 

Prediction

The Eagles have won three of their last five Premier League home games, keeping four clean sheets during that span, and are an efficient outfit under Vieira. 

This month's 2-0 defeat to Arsenal was the first time in eight league games that they had conceded more than once at Selhurst Park - so Villa will have to be very sharp to hit multiple goals. 

The Villans' diabolical defending in that opening defeat to Bournemouth is hard to forget and further changes, albeit forced by injury this time, could further disrupt their cohesion. 

Hence, the hosts - who will be confident after their well-deserved point against Liverpool - appear most likely to clinch the points this weekend.