Crystal Palace will take heart from their change in fortunes as they travel to Wales to play Swansea City on Saturday.
Neil Warnock's side enjoyed a morale-boosting 3-1 victory over Liverpool last weekend, coming from a goal down to end a five-match winless spell. However, Palace (3-3-6) have flattered to deceive for much of the campaign under new manager Warnock, and the coach is aware Saturday's game against the in-form Swans will be a tough test for his players.
"It was so important to get points on board against Liverpool because this is our toughest match coming up," Warnock said. "I watched Swansea against Arsenal and I thought they were the better side - and the best team I've seen this season. They are a really good team and Garry (Monk) has done a fantastic job. They are a threat everywhere and have changed slightly so they are a bit tougher as well, so this is going to be a real battle."
Swansea (5-3-4) were undone by a late goal against Manchester City last weekend, but have lost just two of their last seven and are just one point outside of the top four going into this weekend.
Monk's side were cheered on by their passionate home crowd as they beat Arsenal 2-1 in their last game at the Liberty Stadium, and the Swansea manager called for the fans to get behind the team and inspire another win.
"We need our crowd," Monk said. "The atmosphere at the Arsenal game was amazing and the players felt it. It pushed us on in the difficult moments as well as the good. When we went a goal behind, the crowd didn't stop. They were very vocal and it helped push us on.
"The affect it has on the players cannot be underestimated. Their support will be massive for us in the coming weeks. Hopefully we can put on a performance that can get the result on the pitch on Saturday."
The Swans have injury doubts over Wayne Routledge and Federico Fernandez, but are unlikely to make many changes from the team that played against City. Wilfried Bony will continue to lead the line, with Gylfi Sigurdsson in behind and the pace of Jefferson Montero and Nathan Dyer stretching play on the wings.
Monk's biggest decision will be whether or not to re-introduce Jonjo Shelvey for Tom Carroll in midfield.
Palace have injury worries over Adrian Mariappa (knee), Damien Delaney (calf) and Kevin Doyle (groin). Delaney was forced off in the first half of the win over Liverpool, and the defender is likely to be the only change Warnock makes to his starting 11. The defence has been Palace's problem on the road this season - conceding 12 in six away from Selhurst Park - and only struggling QPR have allowed more goals on the road(15).
Swansea took four points off Palace last season, but were held to a 1-1 draw in this fixture. The goal in that draw ended a run of six games without a goal for the London club against the Swans.
The Welsh club have won four of their last six meetings with Palace, outscoring the Eagles 10-1 in those games. Last season was the first time the clubs have met in the Premier League.
