Crystal Palace lost their most recent decision, a 1-0 setback to front-running Chelsea. While most would certainly overlook that individual loss due to Chelsea's top billing, in the broader context CP are still struggling. They have just four points in the standings from their last ten Premier League matches and that has sent them downwards after what wasn't that bad of a start to the season back in the late summer/early fall.
Crystal Palace play on Boxing Day
Heading into their upcoming match on December 26th, Crystal Palace are just one point up on 18th-placed Sunderland.
That's a team who have more points in the standings in their last four matches than CP have in their last ten. If any kind of approximation of current trends continue, then it shouldn't be all that long before Sunderland and perhaps even Swansea City are both higher in the standings than CP. Accordingly, 5/1 as relegation odds for Crystal Palace are looking pretty good with SportingBet.
Alan Pardew was sacked on Thursday
Alan Pardew, as of Thursday, has been sacked from the manager position. A change in manager can change a club's direction, but it can also send a team into turmoil. Whether the players think he deserved it or not could have a big effect on team morale.
The big odds are on Crystal Palace not sorting things out, the 5/1 line with SportingBet on them to be relegated.
If you want to back CP for success in antepost with a bet that might hit then the best you can do is focus on a Top-10 finish. Currently 8 to 1 is available with bet365, but getting to 10th involves sufficiently outplaying seven teams currently ranked above them. If you want to bet the Top-10 finish market then I think you're better off with Sunderland at 40s, a point I made in another article.
Sam Allardyce is a huge favorite to replace Pardew as the next permanent manager, currently priced at shorter than 1/8 with BetVictor. Allardyce has a career winning percentage in the Premier League of 33.6%. That kind of success may see them avoid relegation if it transfers over to a hypothetical upcoming tenure. However, it's possible Allardyce, with the same roster, does no better than Pardew and I don't think bettors should count on ambition with this club. Instead the focus right now should be lengthy odds for relegation.
