Two sides who will be more than happy with their respective showings in the Premier League this season come head to head in South London this weekend on the final matchday of the campaign.
Crystal Palace have turned around their fortunes since the turn of the year to flirt with a top-half finish, while a club-record eighth place is already secure for Swansea City heading into the clash.
Crystal Palace
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Regardless of the outcome on Sunday afternoon, Palace will end the Premier League campaign in a far better shape than they started it nine months ago.
Left managerless on the brink of the new season after Tony Pulis departed, the Eagles turned to former boss Neil Warnock to steady the ship and help the club maintain their top-flight status for a second successive year.
Things continued to look relatively bleak for the South London club at Christmas time, until Alan Pardew was appointed in place of stand-in Warnock, winning nine of his 17 league games in charge since then to propel Palace up to 12th place.
To put that into some perspective, Warnock could claim just three wins from his 16 matches at the helm. Pardew has managed to get the best out of the players available to him, with all the hallmarks of his training-ground work etched across this squad.
Heading into the final round of fixtures, Palace can still finish in the top half, despite recently enduring a four-match losing streak. That barren run came to a halt at Anfield last Saturday, when they proved to be the ultimate party poopers by ruining Steven Gerrard's big Merseyside farewell.
That performance encapsulated Palace in a nutshell, with a battling display earning them three deserved points. Pardew experimented against Liverpool with one eye on next season, which is something he may again choose to replicate against the Swans this weekend.
Recent form: WLLLLW
Swansea City
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In a not too dissimilar way, Garry Monk has defied all expectations in South Wales this term to take Swansea from relegation candidates to Europa League challengers.
Things looked particularly bleak under former boss Michael Laudrup at one stage last season, before Monk came in to tidy things up. It came as something of a surprise when chairman Huw Jenkins handed the fan favourite the job on a permanent basis, but it is fair to say that it has been a match made in heaven.
In fact, the new man at the helm has taken four points more than his predecessor, despite managing 11 games fewer during his reign to date, which led to Jenkins describing the 36-year-old as the best manager in the club's history.
With a new record seemingly being set as each week passes by, including a personal best points tally in the Premier League, the Swans are now very much looking ahead in the hope of replicating their success next term.
Having already wrapped up eighth place in the table, midfielder Jack Cork himself admitted this week that the Welsh outfit simply have to continue building as they look to ride the crest of a wave.
A 4-2 defeat at Manchester City last time out, which very nearly saw them claim an unlikely point when they pulled the game back to 2-2, blighted things a little. However, that result came on the back of three-straight wins, suggesting that while others may be tempted to take their foot off the gas at this stage of the campaign, City continue to push ahead in an attempt to reach new heights.
Recent form: DLWWWL
Team News
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Pardew is expected to continue experimenting with his side this weekend, using what is effectively a dead rubber to prepare for next season.
The Eagles made five changes last time out, bringing Wayne Hennessey in for a rare start, although with Julian Speroni handed a new deal this week he is likely to be given the nod once more.
Martin Kelly was moved to central defence from the start for the win over Liverpool, but after making a mistake in the build-up to the Reds' goal, he may be switched back to his favoured position.
Wilfried Zaha, Jason Puncheon and Yannick Bolasie are all enjoying their football right now, meanwhile, and it is unlikely that any of the tricky trio will be left out.
Swansea will be without influential midfielder Ki Sung-yeung after he was sent for surgery on a knee injury, while further up the field Bafetimbi Gomis is seeking a sixth goal in the same number of outings.
In defence Angel Rangel will be pushing for a start, having picked up an injury against Arsenal which kept him out of his side's last game. Jazz Richards waits in the wings should he be called upon at full-back.
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Speroni, Ward, Delaney, Dann, Souare, McArthur, Jedinak, Ledley, Zaha, Bolasie, Murray
Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Fabianski, Rangel, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor, Cork, Shelvey, Dyer, Sigurdsson, Montero, Gomis
Head To Head
Swansea have won each of their last three games against Palace at Selhurst Park without conceding a single goal.
In fact, the Eagles have scored just two goals in their last seven matches against Monk's men.
The last two meetings - both held at the Liberty Stadium - finished as 1-1 draws, though, so the signs point to a tight afternoon in South London.
We say: Crystal Palace 1-1 Swansea City
Both these sides will give all they have in an attempt to end their respective seasons with a real bang. The Swans may be 11 points ahead of their opponents in the league table, but since Pardew has come in there has been very little between them and that will tell on Sunday afternoon.
Daniel Lewis
