Palace look to home form

Monday, 04/04/2011

by Chris Kirby, Shoot's Crystal Palace blogger

With most teams having just seven games left to play, the Championship table is starting to take shape – and it doesn’t look good for the current bottom three.

Crystal Palace’s 2-1 victory over Barnsley on Saturday saw them pull seven points clear of the relegation zone, leaving Sheffield United, Preston and Scunthorpe staring right into the abyss that is League One.

The appointment of Alan Knill as Scunthorpe manager was meant to invigorate The Iron and give them a new lease of life. They promptly lost 6-0 to Norwich, and with a -41 goal difference, they must surely be doomed.

Preston finally appear to be putting up a fight, but is it too late? Three straight victories have seen them jump above Scunny and move to within spitting distance of Sheffield United, however they will need unlikely victories at Reading and Pompey to give them any realistic chance of survival.

Sheffield United are just one place behind Palace, but face a daunting trip to league leaders QPR on Monday night. Former United boss Neil Warnock will be eager to put one over his old side, and edge his charges three points closer to promotion.

So what of Palace? Well, that’s ten home victories now this season. The same as fifth-placed Leeds and one more than Reading in sixth. OK, the away form may be nothing short of abysmal, but with the Selhurst Park crowd in full voice every other week, a home win is usually on the cards.

In fact Palace haven’t been beaten at home since October 2010 – quite a feat for a team sitting in 21st in the table.

In contrast, the bottom three have just 15 home victories between them since August, and average around one goal each per game. Not the sort of form you want going into the last five weeks of the season really is it?

Before I sound too confident however, I must remind myself that I’m a Crystal Palace fan. We don’t do things this easily. If we pulled ten points clear next weekend and were sat comfortably in mid-table it wouldn’t feel right.

What I’m trying to say is, keep your eye firmly on the relegation battle. There are bound to be a few twists , turns and heart-failures to come, and you’ll probably find us right in the middle of it all!

*Watch our for Palace tickets competitions at www.shoot.co.uk involving Scunthorpe and Leeds home games!

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