Crystal Palace and Aston Villa shared a goalless draw at Selhurst Park, a result that extended Oliver Glasner's remarkable unbeaten run against Unai Emery to seven matches but did little to ease either manager's frustrations. Villa, enjoying their best season for years and chasing the leaders, struck the post late through Victor Lindel and saw a string of chances go begging, while a patched-up Palace side battled through an injury crisis to claim a point despite stretching their own winless run to eight games in all competitions.
In a scrappy contest of few clear openings, Brennan Johnson came closest to giving Palace the lead on his home debut, only for Emiliano Mart ednez to deny him, before the visitors finished strongly in front of a watching Thomas Tuchel. Ollie Watkins was thwarted by Dean Henderson and then grazed the outside of the post with a late header, Lindel's effort cannoned back off the woodwork and Morgan Rogers blazed over in the final minute, but a combination of wayward finishing, solid defending and contentious refereeing calls ensured the night ended without a breakthrough.
Glasner's Depleted Squad Rises to the Occasion
Palace's performance was framed by the extent of Glasner's selection problems. Reduced to only 13 fit senior outfield players and without the likes of Nathaniel Clyne, Jefferson Lerma and Daniel Mu f1oz, the Crystal Palace manager was forced to deploy Justin Devenny at right wing-back. Palace were without 10 first-team players for this fixture and spent the buildup answering questions about Glasner's future after he was installed as an early favourite for the Manchester United job, all while the club worked on a deal for Genk's Zakaria El Ouahdi and waited for Mu f1oz's return from a knee injury to reinforce a depleted squad.