Hull are the other side in my opinion alongside Watford and Crystal Palace who will be in the Premiership next season and have taken a leaf out of Watford’s play book. They are currently 2nd, two points clear of 3rd placed Watford and are being backed heavily by Egyptian owner Assem Allam. He has used connections back home to allow Hull to loan two of the country’s biggest international players Mohamed Nagy and Ahmed Fathi from Cairo giants Al Ahly. Alongside those two Egyptian internationals, manager Steve Bruce has also brought in a third in winger Ahmed Elmohamady, a player he knows well after working with him at Sunderland.
Alongside the three Egyptians pushing Hull up the table is George Boyd, a player in my opinion who is one of the best currently in the division, on loan from relegation threatened Peterborough. All these players have been instant impacts on Bruce’s side with Boyd scoring two against Birmingham City on his debut (one within 60 seconds), Nagy scoring three in his last four games and Elmohamady also hitting the back of the net.
Captain Robert Koren and Abdoulaye Faye, whom both have Premiership experience with West Brom and Bolton respectively are also helping Hull’s push for a return to the big time.
Crystal Palace who appointed probably the best man for the job in Ian Holloway, after losing Dougie Freeman to Bolton half-away through the season currently sit 3rd one point behind Watford. They have the League’s top scorer in Glyn Murray (29) and some of the most exciting youngsters in the division, Wilfried Zaha (recently signed by Man Utd) and Yannick Bolasie and are gunning for the two automatic promotional places.
With these players you would expect to see Palace in the Premiership next season playing at Old Trafford, the Emirates and the Ethiad next season. Glen Murray has been on fire this season banging in goals left, right and centre and is for that reason the league’s top goalscorer, Wilfried Zaha, who recently signed for Manchester United and loaned back to Palace for the rest of the season has been tormenting opposition defenders all season and they also have their own trump card in veteran goalscorer Kevin Phillips.
Manager Ian Holloway has the ability unlike other clubs around him to call upon Kevin Phillips, a veteran goalscorer from the bench or for a rare start; which might not be that rare after he netted a hat-trick recently against promotion rivals Hull City in a 4-2 win. I can see his and Murray’s goals alongside the trickery, energy and excitement of Zaha and Bolasie and other experienced heads such as Owen Garvan and Mike Jedinak firing Palace back into the Premiership.
With ten games left in an already pulsating season, no one expects anything else than a rip roaring ride to find out who will be travelling to grounds such as Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge and Anfield next season.
My predictions are Cardiff to yet again do their regular end of season turn and not even win the play-off final at Wembley in May. So for me its Crystal Palace to win the division, Watford in the second automatic promotion place and Hull to win the play-offs at Wembley come May.
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