Premier League opponent preview: Crystal Palace - form, star players and records | OneFootball

A sneak peek of Southampton's awaiting opponents Crystal Palace, who have forged a good Premier League reputation in the past months.

Today is Southampton's final resting weekend and probably the penultimate one until they don't manage to thread away a win. In all honesty, March hasn't been a kind month for the Saints, which leaves April as the go-to damage control period for balancing the Premier League front.

Now, if there's one word to summarise the concerned schedule, it's simply tricky.

On the surface, there are no unconquerable teams in store, but there are sufficient mid-table rivals that can give a hard time to Southampton. Leading that pack of teams is Crystal Palace, who have wrestled a good chunk of renowned clubs to avoid falling down the table.

As a Saint, you must be well aware that Palace began in a similar Southampton manner but left all of their struggling counterparts chasing them by the end of the year.

Crystal Palace's admirable Premier League upswing

Further, acknowledge their frequent victories after the new year and they are on course to finish above the likes of Manchester United and Tottenham.

Now, that's called some turnaround after navigating a challenging start to the Premier League. Unsurprisingly, those credits are due to their coach Oliver Glasner and Palace's attacking strengths.

Jean Phillipe-Mateta, Ismaila Sarr and Eddie Nketiah have developed a formidable chemistry among them and it will need a miraculous effort from Southampton to keep them quiet at St. Mary's.

Well, it didn't happen in the previous meeting and the recent history suggests that frustrating the Eagles might be a way bigger ask from the Saints. To give an idea, there are only a handful of current players remaining who inflicted the last defeat on the visitors.

Hence, the mid-week matchup isn't a relaxing occasion but let's hope that at least the full-time score does seem satisfactory.