Saturday's game between Watford and Crystal Palace is arguably a fixture that both sides will expect to win. Both teams are in poor form and will ultimately fancy their chances of collecting all three points - meaning the game becomes a hard one to call.
Alan Pardew's Eagles have one win in eight Premier League fixtures - a run that has seen them slip from the European places to 12th place in the table - and are still searching for their first win of 2016. Nine points clear from the relegation zone, Palace should be okay, but their slump in form is disconcerting for the fans.
On the other hand, despite also only having won one game in eight league fixtures, Quique Sanchez Flores' Watford are still exceeding all pre-season expectations. The Hornets may have lost a bit of their sting, but they still sit in a highly respectable 10th place and will be looking to get back to winning ways on Saturday afternoon at Selhurst Park.
Will either of these two sides throw off their poor form and collect all three points? We catch up with VAVEL UK writer and Palace fan Sam Smith to hear his thoughts ahead of the game.
Crystal Palace are having a strange season. From overachieving and flying high in the league at the start of the season, they seem to have gone off the boil. Why do you think this is the case?
When I saw our fixture list at the start of the season, I saw our January-to-early-February fixtures as the least toughest period throughout the season, however it has proved to be the most challenging - which is a worry. Our last league victory was back in mid-December when we beat Stoke City 2-1 at the Britannia Stadium and our situation was looking very positive at the time.
However, since then we have lost key players, such as Jason Puncheon, Yannick Bolasie, Bakary Sako, Joe Ledley, Mile Jedinak, James McArthur and Dwight Gayle to different injuries. Connor Wickham recently picked up a suspension for a ridiculous elbow on Jan Vertonghen, although that ban will have ended by the time we play Watford.
Our only wins since that Stoke game have both been in the FA Cup, which I would personally put down to the fact that there is much less pressure in cup competitions due to there being no points on offer. A general - albeit strange - lack of confidence is the main factor for our recent plight, but I think a couple of those injured players returning should give the team a big boost.
For you, who are the players that have impressed you and stood out this season? Who needs to buck their ideas up before the season finishes?
"Dann has proved to be a bargain"
Scott Dann and Wilfried Zaha have been our best players this season, with Yohan Cabaye just behind the pair. Dann has proved to be a bargain as we signed him for under £2 million from Blackburn Rovers in January 2014 and he has been almost ever-present alongside Damien Delaney. His recent form has even culminated in calls from Palace fans for Roy Hodgson to include him in the next England squad, although I feel we may never see that materialise due to the likes of Chris Smalling, Phil Jagielka, Gary Cahill and John Stones being well-trusted by Hodgson.
If any of our players were to be called up to the England squad, it would definitely be Zaha. Having struggled for a few months after returning to his boyhood club from a brief and unsuccessful spell at Manchester United, he is finally starting to kick on and defenders are now fearing him again. As for Cabaye, he is now arguably past his best, but he has still shown flashes of complete jaw-dropping brilliance.
In terms of under-performers, I expected Puncheon to continue last season’s form which saw him revert to a more central role, but he is still yet to register a goal which was once a key component of his game.
What are your thoughts on Alan Pardew? Is he the right man for the job and can he make Palace a viable Premier League threat in the future?
Pardew is renowned for being excessively confident which has its drawbacks as well as its advantages. He instils that same confidence into each of his players but he has been known to make some naïve decisions since taking over just past a year ago.
He assured fans that our squad was big enough to continue challenging the top half of the Premier League for the rest of the season, which many fans have disagreed with. Due to this belief that we could challenge, his only January signing was Emmanuel Adebayor, who received a mixed reaction.
Pardew is a Palace legend following his memorable FA Cup semi-final goal in 1990 which put us into the final that year, and his arrival as manager gave everyone associated with the club a lift after the unsuccessful period under Neil Warnock. Should England fail miserably at the European Championships, I think Pardew would be a great candidate to take over from Roy Hodgson, and he has actually subtly expressed an interest in taking on that role.
What have you made of Watford this season and where do you think they can finish in the league table?
"Watford look anything but a relegation-threatened club"
I have been almightily impressed with Watford this season. It was imperative that they started well as I had them down as potential relegation candidates at the start of the season, although they look anything but a relegation-threatened club right now. Many people from the outside - including myself - questioned the most recent managerial change but Quique Sanchez Flores has fared really well in his first role in England.
Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo will receive most of the credit if the team continues their good form and finishes well, but there are many unsung heroes from what I have seen, particularly Heurelho Gomes and Etienne Capoue.
Similarly to Palace, the aim, first and foremost, should be to reach the 40-point mark, which is seen as the holy grail for clubs whose aim at the start of the season is to avoid the drop. I can then see Flores’ side finishing in a very solid mid-table position.
Who do you consider as the biggest Watford threat to Palace taking all three points this weekend?
The obvious answer would be to say the front pair: Deeney and Ighalo. A combined total of 20 goals is sensational for any strike pair, not just for one playing for a club who currently sit in 10th place. I can see either of them scoring against a Palace defence that recently seems to be able to leak a goal or two.
Where we have conceded recently, we have matched it with a sometimes comical inability to score at the other end. Scott Dann’s goal against Bournemouth two weeks ago was our first in the league since that Stoke victory in December. Due to this, I also see Gomes as a threat because he’s been outstanding this season and we will have to be very clinical in front of goal to beat him.
What exactly do Palace need to do in order to win the game? Is it a case of breaking down a resolute Watford defence?
Ultimately, I agree. However, Deeney and Ighalo will look to break down a nervy Palace defence so those two will be a big worry for Pardew when he puts forward his tactical approach to the team. Tottenham Hotspur witched to a formation where they had three central defenders up against the two Watford strikers and it worked really well.
"We must nullify Deeney and Ighalo"
I can’t see Pardew doing the same as he has always favoured four defenders, while three-at-the-back also takes away the two wingers who are a massive part of how Palace play. If we nullify Deeney and Ighalo, Zaha will be a key player for us as he will be our attacking outlet who creates opportunities for the forwards, while Yohan Cabaye will also need to be back to his best following a return last week from his recent injury.
Finally, what is your score prediction for the game?
This fixture has swung in Palace’s favour recently, but it will be another tight game at Selhurst. Watford are much-improved from the reverse fixture earlier in the season when a Yohan Cabaye penalty settled a 1-0 scoreline and they will certainly believe they can get a result from us.
In particular, our former players have come back to haunt us in recent years so I wouldn’t be too shocked if Adlene Guedioura or Ben Watson were to be the catalyst for a Watford victory.
All joking aside, it’s a difficult game to predict as the two sides are separated by just a single point in the table, so I’m going to go with a 1-1 draw with goals from Deeney and Zaha.