Premier League tips: Crystal Palace v Brighton best bets from Thommo

* All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.

Yes, this is a derby before you start scratching your head! Crystal Palace host Brighton at Selhurst Park on Monday and amazingly, the visitors can claim top spot in the Premier League with a victory over their great rivals.

For their part, Crystal Palace have started to settle into life under new boss Patrick Vieira picking up five points from their first five Premier League outings. An impressive 3-0 win over Spurs has been the highlight so far, but they did fall to Liverpool by the same scoreline last time out. Meanwhile, Graham Potter’s Seagulls have undoubtably been the league’s surprise package to date, with four victories already under their belt.

Monday’s match looks set to be a fascinating contest and we’ve Paddy Power football ambassador Phil Thompson to take a look at the best bets for the game. Oh, and our football trader Jason Murphy is along for the ride as well….

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Phil Thompson

I do see Crystal Palace beating Brighton in this game on Monday. They did quite well against Liverpool last Saturday. The 3-0 win they got at home against Spurs the weekend previous should give them confidence heading into this one though. Wilfried Zaha disappointed me with a flat performance at Anfield, but at Selhurst Park he’s a different player.

This game is known as the M23 Derby, and Palace come into this contest unbeaten in the last four meetings between the pair. Everything is pointing in their direction to win and I believe there ARE some really good times to come for Patrick Vieira’s men. I’m even fancying them to beat Brighton to nil in this one. I just feel Brighton are flattering to deceive at this moment and don’t be surprised if the score is 2-0 to the home side.

Odsonne Edouard is knocking on Vieira’s door to start now for Crystal Palace. He missed a good chance late on against Liverpool, but it’s reassuring that he is getting in the right positions to score. Watch out for the teamsheets beforehand when they drop, but I like the look of Edouard to net at anytime on Monday night.

Jason Murphy

Brighton have started the Premier League season really well, but us traders always talk about xG. The Seagulls got a really raw deal when it came to xG last term and maybe, they are now getting the right side of that luck this season. They beat Leicester 2-1 last weekend, but The Foxes had a few harsh calls given against them, so maybe the home side were lucky to escape with three points there.

The game before that, Brighton went to Brentford and lost the xG, but they won the match. So, you’d have to say fortune has been on their side to date and the markets might be reading a little too much into that for Monday’s meeting with Crystal Palace.

On the flip side, Palace secured a great result against Spurs, even if the red card against their opponents helped them to that victory. In fairness to Patrick Vieira’s side, Liverpool are going to do what they did to Palace to a lot of teams this season. However, I felt Palace competed very well at Anfield and should have got a penalty in that game too.

They just feel like a team moving in right direction under the guidance of the French football legend. Roy Hodgson did a brilliant job with them, but I reckon Vieira might have a slightly better Palace outfit in terms of quality. I feel Brighton are too short a price for the away win here and I’m tipping the draw on Monday.