Time to back Crystal Palace to preserve Premier League status

Once Crystal Palace boss Tony Pulis has finally cooled down after Jason Puncheon’s wild and equally pivotal penalty miss against Tottenham, the Welshman can seek solace in the upcoming fixture list in his bid to steer the Eagles to safety.

Starting with the visit of 12th–place Stoke, Palace then entertain fellow promoted side Hull, before taking in an admittedly ominous trip to Arsenal, but rounding the quartet of games off with another Selhurst Park outing against West Brom – whom they just ousted from the FA Cup.

So, taking into account the hop across town to the Emirates, Pulis would be forgiven for setting his points target somewhere in the region of seven points from those games.

Given the concertinaed nature of the Premier League table such a tally would almost certainly lead to a serious ascent for the south Londoners, making the 7/4 on offer that they stay up as ripe as it’s likely to be for some time.

Without a league win in three, this is a bold prediction, but with only three points separating themselves at the foot of the table from Norwich in the lofty perch of 15th, it’s far from outrageous.

Claims of safety can be backed up by the fact they have already recorded vital wins over three other teams languishing in similar sticky stuff, in the form of Sunderland, West Ham and Cardiff, while a second away win of the season at Aston Villa on Boxing Day was also a healthy sign.

Pulis’ appointment already looks a wise one, having installed a missing resilience under his predecessor and just as importantly a newfound belief, resulting in four league victories since the former Stoke man took the reins.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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