Match ends, Aston Villa 0, Crystal Palace 0.
Aston VillaAston Villa0Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace0
- Successive 0-0 home draws for Villa
- Palace now winless in eight games
- Villa 12th in the table, Palace 18th
- Contract negotiations delay Pardew appointment
Prospective Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew saw the London club claim a goalless draw in a turgid encounter with Aston Villa.
There was precious little excitement during 90 largely chanceless minutes at Villa Park.
Villa created more opportunities, with Christian Benteke and Alan Hutton both testing Julian Speroni with shots.
Palace had the clearest opening, but Yannick Bolasie struck the crossbar after breaking past the home defence.
Pardew - who is on the verge of taking the Palace reins from caretaker boss Keith Millen - will have been pleased with his potential new charges' discipline and determination, but will also now be aware of the serious work he has to do to keep the London club in the top flight.
Palace remain in the bottom three despite this draw, which extends their winless run to eight matches, dating back to the 3-1 home victory over Liverpool on 23 November.
With a bit more ambition and greater composure when it mattered, the visitors could easily have won.
Bolasie's chance was a clear one, earned through the awareness of the midfielder to steal the ball near the halfway line, but with just Brad Guzan to beat, the 25-year-old's finishing deserted him.
It was not the only time Palace opened the home side up, with only a last-ditch tackle from Ciaran Clark denying Wilfried Zaha a chance in the six-yard box.
With just 11 goals to their name, Villa are the lowest-scoring team in English league football this campaign and it is easy to see why.
They lack speed - of both thought and movement - in attack, making it easy for an opponent to stifle them ahead of the 18-yard box.
Their chief attacking weapons, Christian Benteke and Gabriel Agbonlahor were starved of possession or given the ball in ineffectual areas.
Villa actually began the game well and twice forced Speroni to make low saves through close-range shots from Benteke and Hutton.
Their momentum was halted by a 15th-minute injury to Ron Vlaar and they failed to recapture it, with Benteke's first-time shot over the bar from inside the box and a Leandro Bacuna free-kick, which Speroni saved, the closest they came to scoring.
Villa's point lifted them above Everton into 12th position and they have a five-point cushion to the bottom three but need to significantly improve on a home record of just 15 wins from their last 63 matches.
Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert:
"The fans have been great but I understand their frustration. I'm sure if we had scored nobody would have batted an eyelid.
"They want to see their team win. I can't fault the lads for dominating the ball and trying to score.
"We have started a new way of playing and the lads are really comfortable with it. We just need the finishing touch and it will come."
Line-ups
Aston Villa
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Guzan
- 21Hutton
- 5Okore
- 4VlaarSubstituted forClarkat 15'minutesBooked at 78mins
- 23Cissokho
- 7Bacuna
- 24C Sánchez
- 8CleverleySubstituted forGrealishat 64'minutes
- 10WeimannSubstituted forColeat 83'minutes
- 20Benteke
- 11Agbonlahor
Substitutes
- 6Clark
- 12Cole
- 28N'Zogbia
- 31Given
- 34Lowton
- 37Robinson
- 40Grealish
Crystal Palace
Formation 4-1-4-1
- 1Speroni
- 3Mariappa
- 6Dann
- 27DelaneyBooked at 86mins
- 34Kelly
- 2Ward
- 42Puncheon
- 18McArthurSubstituted forBannanat 90'minutes
- 28Ledley
- 7Bolasie
- 11ZahaSubstituted forGayleat 62'minutes
Substitutes
- 4Hangeland
- 9Doyle
- 10Campbell
- 13Hennessey
- 14Thomas
- 16Gayle
- 25Bannan
- Referee:
- Robert Madley
- Attendance:
- 29,047
Match Stats
Home TeamAston VillaAway TeamCrystal Palace
- Possession
- Home69%
- Away31%
- Shots
- Home14
- Away6
- Shots on Target
- Home3
- Away0
- Corners
- Home5
- Away2
- Fouls
- Home11
- Away12
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Aston Villa 0, Crystal Palace 0.
Post update
Foul by Carlos Sánchez (Aston Villa).
Post update
Yannick Bolasie (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Offside, Crystal Palace. Barry Bannan tries a through ball, but Dwight Gayle is caught offside.
Post update
Offside, Aston Villa. Alan Hutton tries a through ball, but Christian Benteke is caught offside.
Substitution
Substitution, Crystal Palace. Barry Bannan replaces James McArthur.
Post update
Jack Grealish (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Joel Ward (Crystal Palace).
Post update
Foul by Carlos Sánchez (Aston Villa).
Post update
Dwight Gayle (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Post update
Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Julian Speroni.
Post update
Attempt saved. Leandro Bacuna (Aston Villa) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top right corner.
Booking
Damien Delaney (Crystal Palace) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Foul by Damien Delaney (Crystal Palace).
Post update
Attempt missed. Christian Benteke (Aston Villa) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Leandro Bacuna with a cross following a corner.
Post update
Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Joe Ledley.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Leandro Bacuna (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Christian Benteke.
Substitution
Substitution, Aston Villa. Joe Cole replaces Andreas Weimann.
