May 9 2017

Holmesdale Road end at Selhurst Park (Photo: Andy Roberts)

Inconsistency has probably cost Crystal Palace this season, writes William Ashe.

If you look at the Premier League table with just two games left, you’d feel Crystal Palace are safe because Hull City and Swansea don’t look like they have enough in them to win their remaining fixtures. Realistically though, Palace could still find themselves playing Championship football next season if they don’t get points on the board.

They lost 5-0 at Manchester City at the weekend but they’ve beaten both Liverpool and Arsenal in the weeks before. So why does Sam Allardyce and his men have a battle on their hands to keep their Premier League status?

Palace have been very inconsistent

When you look at some of the players Big Sam has at his disposal, you’d think they were capable of not only surviving in the Premier League, but also competing for at least a place in the top half of the table. Sam has Christian Benteke up front and other players in Wilfred Zaha – Palace certainly aren’t short of quality.

The main problem Palace have been having this season is that they seem to be up and ready for the big games, but when one of the lower teams comes knocking they don’t seem up for it.

Palace are sitting a couple of spots above the relegation zone but they’ve beaten Arsenal at home and they’ve even gone to Chelsea and Liverpool on their own turf and beaten them. That’s all well and good but when you’re losing 2-0 to Burnley and you’re even getting a 4-0 thrashing from bottom-of-the-table Sunderland at home, something’s clearly not right.

Their remaining fixtures aren’t pleasant

Not only do Palace have the problem of being inconsistent this season, but if you’re a Palace fan you’ll be looking at your remaining matches wondering if you’re going to be able to get a win at all. With fixtures that include going to Old Trafford to face the Red Devils.

With a fixture with Hull beforehand, they’ll be looking at that one as the one that keeps them in the Premier League. Of course, Palace could still do a job over the Manchester giants like they did with current league leaders Chelsea, but they’ll certainly be concentrating on the Hull fixture more.

Palace could survive by beating Hull

One benefit Palace has between now and the end of the season is that they need to face fellow relegation-battlers Hull, which means it’s still in their hands to stay in the league. Big Sam knows that if Palace draw with the Tigers they should be safe.

Will Crystal Palace be in the Premier League next year?

Crystal Palace certainly aren’t the team you’d fancy on one of your weekend accumulators, but they could still spring a surprise against Manchester United and finish in midtable because it’s that close.

If you think Palace can beat their next two opponents, take advantage of a free bet to give yourself a chance of winning more money. They aren’t the odds-on favourites to win their next games, but if they can build on other successes they’ll have a good chance.

Plus, if you use the Free Bets website, you’ll be able to find a bookmaker that enables you to bet on them without spending any money of your own. Many bookies have deals on, and this site makes it easy to compare them!

If you look at the league table now you’ll see several teams have a chance of going down, Crystal Palace being one of them, but if they can win a game in their next few fixtures they’ll be strong favourites to stay in the Premier League