December 15 2020

Roy Hodgson

Crystal Palace's flurry of games during the rest of the month will have a big impact on the league table, writes Peter Toomey.

Tough fixtures against top-of-the-table teams and in-form Premier League sides could leave the Eagles struggling for points if they don't get off to a solid start heading into a hectic turn of the year run of matches.

Most foreign managers bemoan the lack of a winter break as witnessed in other top European leagues when they first arrive to the Premier League, but Roy Hodgson himself is no stranger to a busy holiday period.

Due to a late start to the season and the upcoming Euros next summer, the Premier League has funnelled even more Premier League fixtures into a chockablock Christmas period.

Palace have no fewer than five fixtures leading them towards the first week of January. The Eagles welcome the likes of Liverpool and Leicester City to Selhurst Park, with trips away to West Ham, Aston Villa and only rock bottom Sheffield United on the 2 January looking a potential pushover.

Hodgson's side are sitting mid-table in a similar position after the same amount of matches played this time season. But the veteran manager knows just how precarious a place his side are in if they fail to pick up points both at home and on the road in the coming weeks.

Home fixtures against champions Liverpool and in-form Leicester who are both sitting in the top three look to be the toughest fixtures on paper. Both sides currently have players in the top-scorer charts in Jamie Vardy and Mohamed Salah. Wilfried Zaha is currently the only Palace player nipping at their heels with seven goals in comparison to Vardy and Salah's ten.

Zaha currently lies as an outsider bet at 100/1 to take the Golden Boot this season, but with a spate of Premier League betting offers currently available there are plenty of markets to consider backing Palace on this season.

The Eagles' turbulent form will certainly see potential punters peeking at a variety of odds on Palace over the Christmas period. Both West Ham and Aston Villa have endured marginal success so far over the course of the season and will be tough sides to shift. Odds on Palace to overcome both claret and blue outfits away from home already look to be potentially lucrative.

Palace have managed to net three or more goals in three matches so far this season which can leave fans feeling positive about goal scoring potential. However, Hodgson's side also have only one clean sheet to their name, coming on the opening day of the season at home to Southampton.

Consistency has been a problem for Hodgson's side for some time now and it is not likely to come over the Christmas period with such a string of difficult fixtures. Palace currently sit nine points of the drop zone, and this time of year is notoriously a turbulent period for many sides in the Premier League.

Hodgson and co. will do well to take a smattering of points off their upcoming opponents this Christmas and the campaign begins in earnest across town in East London this week.