Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
At this point of the season the term ‘6 pointer’ gets bandied about a lot more often, we witnessed Swansea come out on top over Leicester in a key relegation battle clash a fortnight ago and now it is time for Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough to play out a game with this moniker.
For Crystal Palace it simply is a must win game. It’s just one win in eight matches for Sam Allardyce since taking charge of The Eagles and a total points haul of four from a possible twenty-four. If Palace fans thought they were in a bad situation under Alan Pardew then the situation has obviously got worse.
There is still enough time to turns things around but Allardyce now has to make sure that the rot does not set in any further otherwise the remit of saving the club from the drop to The Championship will not have been fulfilled, the club find themselves 19th and two points from safety.
A win Today could see them move out of the drop zone should results go their way, not only that it would drag Middlesbrough further into trouble. But if Palace are to earn all three points then they are going to have to rediscover some semblance of scoring form.
A blank in the defeat away to Stoke two weeks ago was the 4th time in 5 matches that they have failed to find the scoresheet, they may have been a bit tighter at the back after their 4-0 defeat to Sunderland previously but once again the goals alluded them.
That is an issue that has dogged Middlesbrough all season, a paltry 19 goals scored at the two thirds stage of the campaign means that if they continue this rate of scoring (or lack there of) they will be on target to score just 30 goals all season.
Many will feel that is nowhere near enough for them to stay up this season, but the only saving grace for Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka is that his defence has been relatively resolute enough with many defeats coming by a 1-0 scoreline.
Ultimately though that is still not good enough, there was slight improvement in their last outing when they held an in form Everton to a bore draw at The Riverside Stadium. A well earned point but Middlesbrough’s attack line really need to start finding the net with more regularity.
They will hope that the fact they scored 3 in their last game will set them in good stead this Afternoon, admittedly that opposition was Oxford United but the fact they did actually score a relative hatful of goals by their own standards will no doubt give them something to build on.
Will Palace’s defence be as generous as Middlesbrough’s, it’s hard to say really. There is every chance that they could as Sunderland showed three weeks ago at Selhurst Park when they were 4-0 up at half time. An afternoon to forget for Sam Allardyce as he went up against the club he kept up last season.
But with Middlesbrough’s aversion to goals I can see Crystal Palace earning a vital win in a few hours time. The key will be getting ahead but once they get an advantage you do wonder how ‘Boro will get themselves back in the game. I think it’s going to be all ‘6 points’ to Palace. Home win for me.
