Overview
Since a streak of three consecutive victories against Burnley, Fulham and Shelbourne in December, Crystal Palace has fallen into a prolonged period with 7 unbeaten matches in all competitions. The dense festival schedule is considered an important reason why the "Eagles" are out of breath.
Palace started 2026 with only one point after two matches against Fulham and Newcastle. In the away match at St James' Park, Oliver Glasner's team lost 0-2, when Malick Thiaw and Bruno Guimaraes scored for the home team respectively.
Determined to find victory again at Selhurst Park - the most recent was the 3-1 victory over AZ Alkmaar in early November - Palace is currently ranked 14th in the Premier League table, 7 points behind 4th-placed Liverpool after 20 rounds.
A major bottleneck that prevents them from keeping up with the Champions League group stage lies in their home record. The "Eagles" have only had 2 wins in 10 matches at Selhurst Park in this season's tournament, only Wolves (1) have worse statistics.
In attack, Jean-Philippe Mateta is taking on most of the responsibility when he has scored 8 goals, 5 more than any other teammate. However, Palace soon found an attacking solution in January with the Brennan Johnson contract from Tottenham Hotspur with a club record fee of 35 million pounds.
While the "power struggle" between the head coach and the upper class at Chelsea and Manchester United occupied all the newspapers for the past week, Aston Villa still quietly maintained a positive trajectory under the hand of Unai Emery.
Villa's 11-game winning streak in all competitions was blocked by the top team Arsenal, making 2025 unfinished. However, they immediately responded with a convincing 3-1 victory over their midland rival, Nottingham Forest.
After a relatively difficult early season and being "blurred" by Donyell Malen at times, Ollie Watkins has returned to the central position in Emery's structure. The former Brentford striker has scored 4 goals in the last 3 matches, reaffirming his leading role.
Manchester City's failure to beat Chelsea at the Etihad last weekend also helped Aston Villa equalize points with Man City. Both teams have 42 points, 6 points behind Arsenal in the championship race.
Even so, Crystal Palace is still often Villa's annoying nemesis. The Birmingham team has not won in the last 6 encounters with the "Eagles" (1 draw, 5 losses).
Personnel situation
The dense festival schedule continues to erode Crystal Palace's forces, and the latest victim is Nathaniel Clyne in the defeat at St James' Park last weekend. This experienced defender was forced to leave the field due to a groin injury right at the beginning of the second half, replaced by Justin Devenny.
That was also Palace's second personnel adjustment that afternoon, when they had to use substitution rights due to a brain concussion to pull Jefferson Lerma off the field.
In that context, young center-back Jaydee Canvot, 19 years old, may be given the opportunity to pair up with Marc Guehi and Maxence Lacroix in the upcoming match.
On Aston Villa's side, the solid performance of the midfield duo Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans against Nottingham Forest helped fans worry less about the absence of Amadou Onana due to a hamstring injury.
Emery's team may also receive an important boost for the defense from the medical room, as both Pau Torres (tendon injury) and Tyrone Mings (strap injury) are very close to the time to reappear.
Expected lineup:
Crystal Palace: Henderson, Canvot, Lacroix, Guehi, Rodney, Wharton, Hughes, Mitchell, Johnson, Pino, Mateta.
Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Lindelof, Maatsen, Kamara, Tielemans, McGinn, Rogers, Buendia, Watkins.
The match between Crystal Palace and Aston Villa takes place at 2:30 AM on January 8 (Vietnam time).
