Nottingham Forest remain a place and five points above the relegation zone.
Last time out they sealed an important 2-0 win away at **Brentford,**particularly significant as West Ham had closed the gap to just two points the previous day after they beat Sunderland.
However, it was a result that means Forest now have seven points from their last three games and that is an improvement from what they were getting in the games before.
There will possibly be a feeling of confidence going into this game as they are at home and will feel as though they can get a positive result, particularly after their last home Premier League game ended in a 0-0 draw with league leaders Arsenal.
Including Thursday's win in the UEFA Europa League, Forest have now kept three clean sheets in their last three matches and Sean Dyche will be particularly pleased with that.
They are also facing a Crystal Palace side who, across all competitions, are without a win in eleven games.
January has not been good for the Eagles as manager Oliver Glasner has confirmed he is leaving at the end of the season, captain Marc Guehi has been sold and striker Jean-Philippe Mateta will not feature against Forest as he has been linked with a move away.
They will also be without Adam Wharton due to suspension.
Palace's run of form has seen them drop down the table to 15th and they are only three points ahead of Forest.
A chance to look up rather than down
Forest will view this as a big game because it is a chance to close the gap to Palace and, potentially, bring the south London side into the relegation battle.
Forest play Palace, Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers in their next three games so Dyche will know that these could be season defining matches and games where they can increase the gap on West Ham.
Whereas, Palace will view it as a chance for them to get three points and increase the gap to the teams below them.
When the sides last met, back in August, it ended 1-1.
Options up front for Forest?
Lorenzo Lucca may be involved this week after his loan move but the two strikers available last week against **Brentford**both scored.
Igor Jesus has had an impressive week with two goals in Europe and the opener against the Bees.
Taiwo Awoniyi also came off the bench to score last week and put in a positive showing as he held the ball up well and broke away to score the second.
He could get another chance to make an impact after such a long time away from regular minutes with the side.
Awoniyi is also fresh after not playing in midweek.
In the week, Forest were also linked with a possible move for Palace striker Mateta.
How will Forest approach the game?
Forest have often performed in the games where they may not be expected to win, some of their best showings have been against Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool.
However, in the games where they are sometimes expected to pick up points they have struggled.
Against Palace, they may come into the match as favourites so the pressure may be there to attack the game and play on the front foot.
This will be a challenge that Dyche's side will have to rise to over the coming weeks.
A new rivalry?
It may seem an unlikely rivalry but last summer, due to the complications over multiple club ownership, Forest replaced Palace in the Europa League.
The Londoners were then demoted to the UEFA Conference League.
Much has been made of the rivalry and the saga from the story.
Besides the European situation, given their league positions it would seem unlikely that Palace would consider selling Mateta to Forest.
The one thing that is certain is that it has the potential to be an interesting match up between the two sides and could be a big afternoon in the battle for survival.