All eyes were on Selhurst Park on Saturday evening as Spurs travelled south to SE25 off of the back of a 5-3 victory over rivals Chelsea.
The away side were heavy favourites for this one but Alan Pardew was confident Palace could surprise them.
To the relief of fans and Pardew himself, Palace staged a second half comeback and were able to manage a first win in eight league games, a run dating back to the win over Liverpool in November. The Eagles once again coming from behind to beat an in-form Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 courtesy of a penalty from Dwight Gayle and a late winner from Jason Puncheon.
The Eagles now face a trip North West to Burnley. Sean Dyche’s side were favourites for relegation at the start of the season, but they are turning a few heads with a good run of form. Clarets fans are beginning to believe that survival is not such an impossible dream.
The sides produced a goalless draw in the reverse fixture at Selhurst Park with Julian Speroni coming to the rescue and saving a late Scott Arfield penalty to earn the home side a point.
Burnley have only lost one of their last five games which has seen them climb out the bottom three into seventeenth. They are level with their opponents in terms of points, although Palace sit in fifteenth with only nine points separating the bottom nine clubs suggesting this will be one of those classic six pointers.
Team News
Burnley are facing a bit of a defensive crisis. Captain Jason Shackell faces a late fitness test whilst fellow defenders Stephen Ward and Michael Duff are out injured alongside Kevin Long who has recently had surgery on ligament damage.Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace midfielder James McArthur is set to have a scan on the suspected fractured foot he sustained against Spurs. If he misses out it is likely to give Adlene Guedioura his first Premier League start for the Eagles after impressing in the second half against Spurs. Marouane Chamakh may be fit for a place on the bench after a lengthy layoff with a hamstring injury. New loanee from Arsenal Yaya Sanogo may go straight into the side for this one. Mile Jedinak and Yannick Bolasie are still the only other absentees.
Form Guide
The hosts just edge Palace in terms of late form with two wins and two draws out of the last six games. Palace have managed one win and three draws.
In the last six games between the two sides it is pretty even with two wins each and two draws. The last three games at Turf Moor have favoured Burnley with two wins and a draw and not the best hunting ground for Palace of late.
One To Watch
Danny Ings
Striker. English. Goals 6. Assists 3. Average Rating 6.99.
The Clarets striker has netted six times so far this season and will hope his form can help Burnley to Premier League survival. The England U21 international will also be keen to break into the senior England setup for the upcoming European Championships 2016 qualifiers. Ings has a lot of pace that will need to be controlled if Palace hope to gain anything from this one as well as his strike partner Ashley Barnes who has four goals this season himself.
Predictions
Burnley to finish 17th
There is a lot of similarities with Palace and Burnley. The main one is that they the bookies favourites to be relegated as we were in our return to the Premier League. However, in recent games they have shown a lot of what is required to survive in the top division. And they could well do it. A lot will depend on what business they do in the January transfer window but keeping Danny Ings is arguably the best deal they do not do.
- EPL Index prediction – draw
- Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson’s prediction – away win
- Who Scored prediction – away win
- My prediction – away win
- Paddy Power odds – home win 7/5 – draw 9/4 – away win 21/10
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