A real eye-catching tie in the third round of the FA Cup awaits as non-league Macclesfield welcome the current holders and Premier League outfit Crystal Palace to the Leasing.com Stadium at Saturday lunchtime. The hosts play their regular football in the National League North, a whole five divisions below the English top flight.
Palace will of course be the big favourites to progress into the fourth round of the competition, but Premier League sides have come unstuck before against teams several divisions below them. Thus, the Eagles must not take Macclesfield lightly, or risk being the victims of an almighty “cupset”.
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Macclesfield vs Crystal Palace prediction: Eagles to soar into round four?
Key stats
- Macclesfield have lost two of their last three games.
- Both of those defeats were to nil.
- Palace are on an eight-match winless run in all competitions.
Correct score prediction: Macclesfield 0-2 Crystal Palace
While Palace should be huge favourites to claim victory in normal time, the potential of playing a rotated side away at a non-league ground could still have its difficulties. Thus, we are predicting them to win, but not by an overwhelming margin.
Pre-game odds and win probability: Palace heavily backed by bookmakers
- HOME: 9/1 (10.00) – 10.0%
- DRAW: 5/1 (6.00) – 16.7%
- AWAY: 1/4 (1.25) – 80.0%
*odds from Ladbrokes, subject to change
As shown by the implied probabilities, Palace are unsurprisingly massive favourites with bookmakers to win on their travels and therefore progress safely through into the next round. A draw after normal time can still be backed at just under 17%, while an upset from Macclesfield is deemed highly unlikely at 10%.
Also, feel free to check out our dedicated Today’s betting tips page for more of our expert FA Cup predictions.
Most recent H2Hs: First meeting
This will be the first-ever competitive meeting between the two sides. Given that they are so far apart in the English football pyramid, it will be interesting to see how they match up against each other.
Macclesfield preview: No new concerns
Macclesfield have reported no new concerns in their squad at the time of writing. We are expecting them to field their strongest possible XI available to them.
Predicted lineup: Buckley-Ricketts (GK), Bughail-Mellor, Dawson, Dearnley, Dos Santos, Duffy, Edmondoson, Heathcote, Lacey, Matheson & Menayese
Last five results:
- Macclesfield 2-1 Radcliffe
- Chester 2-0 Macclesfield
- Macclesfield 0-2 Buxton
- Bedford 1-2 Macclesfield
- South Shields 0-1 Macclesfield
Crystal Palace preview: Rotation expected?
Given the level of opposition and the busy January schedule coming up, we are expecting Palace to rotate their starting XI for this one. The likes of Daniel Munoz, Ismaila Sarr and Daichi Kamada are the big names that are still sidelined.
Predicted lineup: Benitez (GK); Richards, Lacroix, Canvot; Devenny, Wharton, Hughes, Sosa; Johnson, Pino & Uche
Last five results:
- Crystal Palace 0-0 Aston Villa
- Newcastle 2-0 Crystal Palace
- Crystal Palace 1-1 Fulham
- Crystal Palace 0-1 Tottenham
- Arsenal 2-1 Crystal Palace
Player to watch: Brennan Johnson
Brennan Johnson is yet to get off the mark for Palace since his £35m move from Tottenham. Playing non-league Macclesfield, he will not get a much better chance to score his first goal for the club.