1st Jan 2015 | Premier League
Pardew Feels The Love At Last
Analysis of recent Palace away games shows that Neil Warnock was unlucky on his travels but a new boss might lead to an upturn in fortunes.
Crystal Palace are likely to receive a lift from returning hero Alan Pardew being installed as manager, and it wouldn’t take much of one to turn recent decent away performances into a victory on New Year’s Day.
The Eagles have actually looked better on the road for most of the past two months but they haven’t quite had the results to show for their competiveness.
Starting with their most recent away game:
QPR 0-0 Palace
Man City 3-0 Palace (HT 0-0)
Spurs 0-0 Palace
Swansea 1-1 Palace (HT 1-1)
Man U 1-0 Palace (HT 0-0)
West Brom 2-2 Palace (HT 0-2)
Apart from a bad second half at the Etihad, the Londoners have been defensively resolute for a while now and they just need a stroke of luck or a clinical moment to grab a merited victory.
They struck the post and had worthy penalty shouts in the 0-0 draw with QPR while Hugo Lloris was man of the match for Tottenham. West Brom relied upon an injury-time equaliser to deny Palace while even Man Utd only won courtesy of a deflection.
A change of manager might bring a change of fortune and Aston Villa remain vulnerable on their own patch where they have only won twice and scored just seven goals in nine outings.
The Eagles won 1-0 in this fixture on Boxing Day last year and it could happen again at 15/2 with Bet365. One firm offers 8/1 but we should sacrifice half a point with the insurance of our money back if it ends 0-0.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 08:25 1st Jan, 2015 but subject to change
