Aston Villa are still in the hunt for the Premier League title and will fancy their chances of banking three more points when they take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
Unai Emery's side saw their incredible 11-game winning run grind to a halt when they lost 4-1 at the Emirates to leaders Arsenal in the final game of 2025.
But Villa bounced back in their first outing of the new year by beating Nottingham Forest 3-1, with all three recommended bets landing for our man Greg.
They remain six points behind the Gunners and will be out to keep the pressure on by piling on the misery for a Palace side in poor form.
Juggling European and domestic commitments has taken a toll on Oliver Glasner's thin squad and the Eagles have gone seven games without a win in all competitions.
Sunday's 2-0 loss in Newcastle, which brought up two bets for me, saw Palace drop down to 14th and these are troubling times, with Glasner and skipper Marc Guehi both set to leave at the end of the season.
Brennan Johnson's arrival from Spurs should give them a boost but Palace could do with a few more new faces this month to breath life into their tired squad.
How the bookies view it: Villa to stay on the up
With Villa flying and Palace in freefall, it's no surprise to see Emery's men as 7/5 favourites with most firms. The Eagles are 19/10 with Bet365 and the draw pays a best 5/2 with BetMGM.
Recent head to head: Eagles are flying
Crystal Palace romped to a 3-0 win at Villa Park earlier this season and that made it six games unbeaten in this fixture.
Villa lost 4-1 at Selhurst Park last season and that was their third successive defeat at Palace's home.
Players to watch: He's an Ollie good fellow
Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins is in a rich vein of form, with a screamer at the weekend making it four goals in his last three outings. He's evens at Bet365 for a goal or assist, which looks good value.
Palace new boy Johnson didn't have the best of debuts, picking up a yellow card in the loss to Newcastle, but will be out to impress on his home debut. The Welsh winger is 11/5 at Bet365 to score or assist.
Probable line-ups
Palace still have pretty lengthy injury list, with Chris Richards, Daichi Kamada, Cheick Doucoure, Daniel Munoz and Eddie Nketiah sidelined.
Villa look set to be without Amadou Onana, Ross Barkley, Pau Torres and Tyrone Mings again due to injuries.
Crystal Palace: Henderson, Mitchell, Guehi, Lerma, Lacroix, Clyne, Hughes, Wharton, Pino, Johnson, Mateta.
Aston Villa; Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Lindelof, Digne, McGinn, Tielemans, Kamara, Rogers, Sancho, Watkins.
Anything else catch the eye?
Crystal Palace have been a bogey team for Villa of late so it could pay to back them to win either half, which pays evens at William Hill.
Villa haven't kept a clean sheet in their last eight games but have been scoring for fun so combining BTTS and over 2.5 goals should stand a chance at 6/5 with Paddy Power.
Think both sides will find the net? Our BTTS Masterclass explains how to spot the fixtures where goals are a given.
This game should be keenly contested and combining fouls for Jefferson Lerma, Guehi and Villa's Matty Cash pays 142/100 at Bet365.
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