Premier League 2016-17 preview, predictions: No. 12, Crystal Palace
With the 2016-17 Premier League season kicking off this weekend, FC Yahoo is rolling out previews for all 20 teams. We’ll be working our way up from the bottom of our predicted table, all the way to the champions.
Last season: On Jan. 1, 2016, Crystal Palace stood, with its chest out and head held high, in fifth place in the Premier League. Then everything went awry. Palace picked up a grand total of two points in January, February and March combined, and if not for a win and three draws in April, could have slid all the way into the drop zone. It didn’t, but it did finish 15th, a result representative of what was a horrid second half of the season.
What’s changed: Until recently, the big move was a quasi-swap deal with Newcastle that sent striker Dwight Gayle (and £3 million) to the Northeast and brought winger Andros Townsend to South London. But mere days before the season opener, Palace has reportedly agreed to sell winger Yannick Bolasie to Everton for £30 million. Everton attacker Oumar Niasse reportedly could be heading in the other direction on loan.
Gayle’s departure, coupled with those of Emmanuel Adebayor and Marouane Chamakh, has left a gaping hole up front at Selhurst Park, but the Bolasie money should allow manager Alan Pardew to fill it. Christian Benteke is both the hottest rumor and a logical fit.
Elsewhere, versatile defender James Tomkins has come in from West Ham, as has French goalkeeper Steve Mandanda from Marseille.
FC YAHOO TAKE
Shahan Ahmed: Palace simply wasn’t as bad as its Premier League points total suggested, evidenced by the Eagles making it to the FA Cup final and even taking a second half lead at Wembley. In truth, an inexplicable 15-match winless streak that lasted from December to April is not likely to recur. Even with that awful run of results, Palace managed to survive and notably claimed points away at big venues like the Emirates, Anfield and Stamford Bridge during the 2015-16 season.
Joey Gulino: Most years, there’s a surprise side that succumbs to relegation. This year, it’ll be Pardew’s Eagles, who took just 13 points over their final 21 matches last term (a horrifying run of form that began even before Pardew brought his square-peg-round-hole tenets to the touchline). Without upgrades in the transfer market, why should anyone expect that to suddenly improve? Even if the club manages to buy Benteke or Saido Berahino, a brutalitarian set of April and May fixtures will doom Crystal Palace to the Championship.
Bookmakers say: Point total over/under: 44.5 | Title odds: 750/1 | Relegation odds: 11/2
FC YAHOO PREDICTIONS
Shahan Ahmed: 11 | Ryan Bailey: 14 | Alex Baker: 13 | Henry Bushnell: 11 | Joey Gulino: 18 | Joe Lago: 13 | Leander Schaerlaeckens: 10 | Average: 12.9 (12th)
More Previews
Arsenal | Bournemouth | Burnley | Chelsea | Crystal Palace | Everton | Hull City | Leicester City | Liverpool | Manchester City | Manchester United | Middlesbrough | Southampton | Stoke City | Sunderland | Swansea City | Tottenham | Watford | West Brom | West Ham
