It’s the return of the Premier League on Boxing Day as Crystal Palace welcome Fulham to Selhurst Park with the clubs not too far apart in the English top flight as they aim for a top half finish in 2023.
Despite the lengthy break from action, Palace still have some injuries to deal with here. Sam Johnstone remains out of action for the most part of the season, while James McArthru and Nathan Ferguson are both set to return some time in the new year.
The @premierleague is back, which means @OfficialFPL is back 👀Here's your Palace FPL guide ahead of the return 😍#CPFC— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) December 22, 2022
The @premierleague is back, which means @OfficialFPL is back 👀Here's your Palace FPL guide ahead of the return 😍#CPFC
Fulham have only Manor Solomon and Neeskens Kebano out and they will not have to deal with any hangovers from the World Cup, as Alexsander Mitrovic and a few others have been back at the club for a while.
Ahead of the game, the only thing keeping Fulham and Palace apart is the goals difference. This comes after Fulham have scored 24 times and let in 26 goals so far from 15 games, as the Eagles have netted just 15 of their own and conceded 18.
Palace also have a game in hand to deal with in the Premier League, which could rocket them above Fulham anyhow.
Although form is certainly out of the window heading into this game with over six weeks off for both clubs in the competitive sense, the Cottagers are still heading into this one without the taste of victory in the past four games since beating Leeds United 3-2.
Fulham drew with Everton 0-0 before a 2-1 loss to both Manchester United and Manchester City, while drawing with West Ham United last time out.
As for Palace, they kept themselves active during the World Cup break in contrast to Fulham playing no games. Patrick Vieira took his side to meet with Turkish champions Trabzonspor, drawing the game 2-2. They then met with Napoli and lost 3-1, before a narrow 2-1 win over Valladolid.
It's always going to be a tough game to predict when two sides have taken so long off. It will feel like the start of a new season for some of the players and the fans and although they are relatively close in the table to one another, Palace's record at Selhurst Park should be the difference here.
Forebet predicts a win for Palace and for the game to see over 2.5 goals. This is also set to be the first Premier League clash between these two in two seasons