Next four home games to make or break Crystal Palace’s season

Crystal Palace may still be the shortest price of all of the 20 Premier League teams to be relegated this season at 8/13, but their upcoming run of home games suggests that a better bet may be accepting the 6/5 on offer that they stay up.

Winning any games against opposition also in the relegation mix is a major asset to any survival bid, with home fixtures widely regarded as being of even greater importance.

Tony Pulis has maintained a 100-per-cent record in this department thus far, with Selhurst Park victories confirmed over both West Ham and Cardiff.

The upcoming period is arguably the biggest in Crystal Palace’s season, with four of their next six outings at home and each of this quartet against opposition that are likely to be in the bottom half of the standing at the end of the campaign.

Any points Palace take from Tottenham or Arsenal in their next six will be a bonus, although the way they defended and created chances of their own in limiting Manchester City to a 1-0 triumph at the Etihad must generate some confidence.

However, it is the home clashes with Norwich, Stoke, Hull and West Brom that will have a bigger bearing on their season and if they can take eight points or more from these four games, their survival chances will be far greater.

Looking back over the last six rounds of Premier League fixtures, Palace would be in the top half of the table if only these results counted, while only Everton and Manchester United have conceded fewer goals in this period.

Crystal Palace are the only team in the Premier League that are odds-against to stay up this season, but based on current form, there is a case to be argued that they have a better chance of avoiding the drop than West Ham, Cardiff, Fulham and Norwich, especially now that they are out of the bottom three.