Desperate Burnley seek to exploit Palace’s dip at Turf Moor | OneFootball

Crystal Palace visit Burnley on Wednesday in a Premier League fixture that would normally be read as a straightforward assignment for the visitors, but their current form gives the match a different complexion.

Palace have lost back-to-back league games and have seen the rhythm that carried them through the early months of the season disrupted.

Burnley remain firmly in relegation trouble, yet they are unlikely to view this as an unwinnable occasion and will see genuine opportunity at Turf Moor.

Burnley’s defeat at Brentford on Saturday was another sharp reminder of their fragility, as they conceded three times in the final stages to lose a game they had been close to managing. They have now lost four matches in a row and have slipped deeper into the bottom three. Their issues are increasingly predictable, with competitive spells undermined by lapses, and a lack of goals continues to harm their prospects.

Only five goals at home this season reflects their struggle to create consistent chances, although they have been more difficult to beat at Turf Moor than their league position suggests.

Crystal Palace travel north needing a response. Their defeats to Strasbourg and Manchester United halted a strong run and have reopened questions about their resilience.

The visitors are still in the top half of the table and remain only a few points off the European places, but those losses have interrupted a momentum that had given them authority in tight matches.

Their defending has been less calm and their attacking play less cohesive, and opponents sense opportunities that were previously shut down.

The situation gives Burnley reason to believe that a positive result is possible if they approach the contest with intensity.

They cannot afford to manage games conservatively and must treat this as a chance to take advantage of a team whose confidence is not as strong as it was a month ago.

Burnley’s desperation is inescapable and it brings a pressure that can unsettle more talented opposition, particularly away from home.

Palace remain favourites because of the quality of their forwards and the organisation they showed earlier in the campaign, but this is unlikely to be a routine away performance. Burnley will commit bodies forward, chase every loose ball and try to force mistakes.

Palace have enough to win, but their recent form suggests they will not find this fixture as comfortable as the table implies, and Turf Moor could produce a game shaped by tension rather than control.