Match Preview
Crystal Palace vrs Fulham
Premier League Match Day 19 25-26 at Selhurst Park
Thursday 1st January 2026, KO: 17:30
Referee:
Tony Harrington (Cleveland)
Live on Sky Sports Premier League
|
Fulham face Crystal Palace in high spirits following a 1-0 victory over West Ham at the London Stadium at the weekend, courtesy of a late Raul Jimenez header.
While Crystal Palac, battling history and recent struggles, will aim to start 2026 on a positive note.
Despite key absentees, the Cottagers are enjoying a rich vein of form, having won their last three top-flight matches, including a five-goal thriller at Burnley and a 1-0 success against Nottingham Forest.
Now 10th on 26 points — level with Thursday’s hosts — another victory could see Marco Silva’s men rise as high as seventh, though winning four consecutive Premier League matches would be a first for the club.
The visitors can take heart from their recent away record, having won each of their last three league trips, two of which came against fellow London clubs; another triumph here would also see Fulham secure four straight top-flight victories on the road for the first time.
What had been a largely positive 2025 — climaxed by FA Cup glory — fizzled out for Palace, who closed the year without a win in five consecutive matches across all competitions, including three straight Premier League defeats.
Still reeling from a penalty-shootout exit to Arsenal in the EFL Cup, a weary and depleted Eagles side were then undone by the Gunners’s North London rivals, as Archie Gray’s first senior goal proved decisive in last weekend’s 1-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur.
Head coach Oliver Glasner acknowledged it is “clear” his squad needs reinforcement during the January window as they look to halt a slump that has seen Palace slide to ninth in the Premier League table and six points adrift of the top four.
Before having the chance to act in the winter market, Glasner must make do with what is available for Thursday’s clash and can take some encouragement from his team’s previous meeting with Fulham, having secured a 2-1 victory at the London Stadium three weeks ago.
This means the Eagles have won each of the last three encounters between the sides across all competitions, but Palace have struggled at Selhurst Park, where they are winless in the last four meetings and have failed to score in that sequence.
Recent home form does little to inspire confidence either, with Glasner’s men without a win in their last five games on their own turf, including four in the league (D1, L3), where they have drawn a blank in three and lost the most recent three.
The South London club have also endured little luck on New Year’s Day, having failed to win any of their previous six Premier League fixtures on this date.
|
-
Fulham have kept a clean sheet in each of their last four Premier League away games against Crystal Palace. They’ve never gone five away games without conceding against a single side in their league history, while the Eagles have also never gone five home games without a goal against an opponent.
-
Crystal Palace have failed to win (D2 L2) or score in any of their last four Premier League home games against Fulham, since a 2-0 victory in February 2019.
-
The away team is unbeaten in each of the last nine Premier League meetings between Crystal Palace and Fulham (W5 D4), since Palace won 2-0 at Selhurst Park in February 2019.
-
Fulham have lost four of their last six league games played on New Year’s Day (W2), with this their first since a 2-1 home loss to Reading in 2020 in the Championship.
-
Fulham have won each of their last three Premier League games – only once before have they ever won four in a row in the competition, doing so in December/January in the 2022-23 campaign.
-
Fulham manager Marco Silva is unbeaten in his last five away Premier League matches against Crystal Palace (W2 D3), keeping a clean sheet in all five games. No manager has ever kept six consecutive away clean sheets against an opponent in Premier League history.
-
Fulham’s Harry Wilson has been involved in seven goals in his last six Premier League games (3 goals, 4 assists). He has nine goal involvements overall this season (5 goals, 4 assists), just one short of his best ever return in a single Premier League campaign (10 in 2023-24 – 4 goals, 6 assists).
-
Raúl Jiménez has scored in his last two Premier League games, with Fulham winning both 1-0. He last scored in three in a row in September 2024, while he’s never done so with his side winning each time.
-
Crystal Palace are winless in all six of their Premier League games played on New Year’s Day (D3 L3), with their last win in the top-flight coming against Notts County in 1992.
-
Crystal Palace have won just four of their last 20 home Premier League matches in January (D4 L12) – two wins against Sheffield United (2-0 in 2021, 3-2 in 2024) and wins over Burnley (1-0 in 2018) and Wolves (1-0 in 2021).
`
`
Source Adeyeye Oluwapelumi at SportsMole/BBCSports