Things just keep getting better and better for Alan Pardew and his Crystal Palace players. Last weekend’s annihilation of Sunderland was their fourth straight Premier League victory. They now sit just a point off the top ten and two clubs in the shape of Stoke and West Ham who have been praised throughout the season for their consistency. Such is the transformation in Palace under Pardew is they stand a great chance of finishing above those clubs. They sit fourth in the form table for the last six games, bettered only by Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea. Having taken 25 points from the 12 league games in charge, there is a case to be made that Pardew has had an even greater impact on the club than Tony Pulis did last season, who he faces in the opposite dugout this weekend.
It has been an agonising month for West Brom who have fallen right back into the relegation picture. Four defeats in their last five games, including losses against Aston Villa, QPR and Leicester – all teams in and around them – means they have undone a lot of the progressed they made when Pulis first took over. I mentioned last week that the former Palace manager would have been extremely disappointed with his team’s defence having conceded four against QPR. I was interested to see how they would react to that against Leicester and if you are a West Brom supporter then you would be very concerned with how fragile and vulnerable they looked in defence once again.
What has really impressed me about Palace since Pardew took over at the beginning of the year is that they are winning games yet playing a very attractive brand of football. That was not also the case last season, despite being successful in the second half of the season, or when Neil Warnock was in charge for the first part of this campaign. They can play direct with the presence of Glenn Murray up top but they mix it up very well with their attacking trio of Jason Puncheon, Wilfried Zaha and Yannick Bolasie. Those three are pivotal to how the manager wishes to play and have combined for six of their last 12 goals – including a hat-trick Bolasie last time out.
If West Brom are going to survive then they will have to starting picking up more points on their travels. The Baggies have managed only two away wins all season long, both of which were 1-0 wins. The last of those wins was all the way back in November which means they have went 10 games without a win on the road. Their away day blues are caused by their inability to score goals on a consistent basis. They have drawn a blank in eight of their 15 away games, which has contributed to them having scored the fewest number of away goals in the league – managing a measly nine. With visits to Old Trafford and the Emirates still to come, it could well be a long and painful end to the season for Pulis and his team.
Few could have predicted how well Alan Pardew would have done since arriving at Selhurst Park. At the time, they were one of the clubs who were embroiled in the battle for survival but they have been the one team who have managed to pick up wins on a consistent basis. West Brom are at the opposite end of the form scale and although they are not in immediate danger, if they continue down their current path then the gap they have between themselves and the bottom three will soon have vanished. The manner of their last two defeats would have me really concerned and I made a decision to oppose them until they show they can defend better. Such is the confidence of the Palace attackers, I think the home win is a great bet here.
Crystal Palace EVENS @ Stan James
