Bristol C. vs C. Palace Match preview

England - Premier League Qualifiers: Bristol C. vs C. Palace

Bristol City have an excellent opportunity to make it to the Coca Cola Championship play-offs finals at Wembley stadium, because they are hosting Crystal Palace at Ashton gate with the 2:1 lead from the first leg. Do the Robins have the strength for the great feat?

Great chance for Robins

It was pretty exciting at Selhurst Park in the first leg of these two rivals, where the visitors deserved to celebrate 2:1. Although home side were in better form and in a series of only one defeat in the last 12 matches, they still started somewhat shy and combative visitors form Bristol were more dominant in the first half. The only chance in the first half was for Bristol’s Dele Adebol whose excellent header forced a save from Speroni. The visitors took the lead in the second half after a free kick but soon after that the home side pressure neutralised the score. Bristol were very good in defense and it seemed that Palace were running out of ideas but the away side scorer Louis Carey made a mistake and caused a fault in his side’s penalty area. Self-assured Ben Watson delivered a penalty. And just when it seemed that the game will end drawn, fantastic Marc Noble's 25-yard drive to the left corner of Speroni's net brought a priceless victory to Bristol City 94 minutes into the game.

Last year’s third-league side have thus gained a great lead for the play-offs finals. Championship has once again showed its unpredictability, since Bristol have celebrated, though in much weaker form (only two wins in the last ten rounds and a drop from second to fourth place).

Beware of Eagles

Bristol have the lead but the guests shouldn't be underestimated. In the last three away games, Palace have marked two wins over giants like Watford and Stoke with only one loss to Hull in the final moments of the game. The eagles know how to surprise and they shouldn't be ruled out before the end. Gambling with James Scowcroft’s performance who was not fully recovered, didn’t pay off and after only eight minutes on the pitch he had to get back on the bench so his performance is again uncertain.

Experienced manager Neil Warnock hasn’t lost a single out of six play-offs semi-finals he played leading various clubs in various ranks. He knows how to make up for the mistakes and he will have useful advice for his players.

Betting verdict

The most important thing for the bookies will be if Warnock will play for all or nothing from the start. If he focuses on the attack, there is a real chance that home side will have enough time to use the empty space in defense. Still, it is more realistic for defensive Bristol City to play for a draw with occasional counterattacks that will pose a threat to Palace’s open formation. We think that there will be enough time for both sides to score at least one goal each so we believe that Bristol will qualify for the finals through a draw at Ashton Gate.

Our tip: Bet 5 on Draw
Odds 3.25 at
Bookmaker: Gamebookers