Crystal Palace v Bristol City
Posted on | November 21, 2008 | No Comments
These are two teams who were tipped for top six finishes this season but at the moment, that’s not the case. Palace are down at the bottom, looking over their shoulder if anything, while City are sat in 8th position although it’s become clear that they just don’t seem to be able to string any sort of consistency together.
Under Neil Warnock, Palace’s fortunes were meant to change. After guiding them to the play offs last season, the Selhurst Park faithful felt that they just had to match, or even better that for this campaign. That’s simply not happened and the Eagles now sit in 17th position, five points above the drop zone. They’ve won just one of their last six games and while a victory away at Coventry should really have put them back on track, they promptly went and lost to Cardiff. They’ve never been a team full of goals and it’s become clear this season that no player seems to want to carry the responsibility. Alan Lee and James Scowcroft have struggled for fitness, meaning that the bulk of the job has been placed on the likes of Ben Watson who has five to his name. With Watson currently unhappy at Selhurst Park and wanting a transfer, it’s clear that they need to find a new formula or face an unexpected relegation scrap at the end of the season.
Bristol City’s form has also been inconsistent although they have managed four points from their last couple of games. After starting the season fairly strongly, Gary Johnson will probably be disappointed that his side hasn’t yet pierced the top six. They sit in 8th position, three points away from the play offs, yet with so many teams up there it’s going to be very hard for them to break in. Considering the finance made available to Johnson during the summer, Robins fans may feel as though they should be doing better. Admittedly, they overachieved last season, but during the summer they spent millions of pounds and with the likes of big money signing Nicky Maynard failing to find his feet yet, surely there must be much more to come out of this team and they must be aiming for improvement in the upcoming weeks.
Neil Warnock has a couple of problems heading into this one; with Matt Lawrence suspended while Danny Butterfield looks set to miss out through injury. With Warnock’s squad stretched already, it looks like the Palace boss may have to throw youngster Nathaniel Clyne in. However, between the sticks its better, with Julian Speroni poised to return following a groin injury. As for Bristol City, Gary Johnson has just one problem with Stern John a doubt after picking up a knock while on international duty.
This game has draw all over it. Both sides are struggling to string any sort of consistency together and with that, we’ll predict a 0-0 result.
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