Two sides that were glad to see international football intervene will return from a much-needed break on Saturday, as Aston Villa and Crystal Palace meet at Villa Park.
The hosts lost four games on the bounce before club competition was paused, while their visitors have won just once in the Premier League this season.
Match preview
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After 1,026 matches as a manager, Aston Villa boss Unai Emery lost four consecutive games for the first time as his ailing side ran out of steam heading towards the final international break of 2024.
A dismal run that started with last month's EFL Cup defeat to Crystal Palace has seen Villa lose their perfect record in the Champions League and slip down to ninth place in the Premier League table.
Last time out, the Birmingham club were beaten 2-0 by Liverpool at Anfield, continuing their 24-year sequence of failures away to top-two opponents.
Despite being without a win in five matches, Emery's men are still relatively well-placed in the top flight and in Europe, so they will hope to get back on track this weekend, ahead of a visit from Italian giants Juventus.
As only four points separate third from 13th in the Premier League pecking order, an upturn in form could soon have the Villans back in contention for another top-four finish.
So, having lost just one of 12 Premier League home games against Crystal Palace to date - only shipping six goals in total - history will be firmly on their side when the Eagles land at Villa Park.
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Following their resounding 5-0 win over Aston Villa on the final day of last term, Palace are now looking to win successive league meetings with their second-city counterparts for the first time in a decade.
However, the away side have won just three of 24 Premier League encounters between the sides so far, with the London club's sole victory at Villa Park coming back in December 2013.
More pertinently, Oliver Glasner's team went into the break on the back of another defeat, losing 2-0 at home to Fulham, and are in similarly grim form to their hosts.
That came as a bitter blow, as they had previously put together a three-game unbeaten run: securing their first league win of the season against Tottenham Hotspur, beating Villa in the EFL Cup's last 16, then salvaging a point away to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
As a result of their latest setback, Palace have posted just seven points this season - only twice before have they accrued fewer at this stage of a Premier League campaign - and are stuck inside the relegation zone.
Inevitably, Glasner's position has been called into question during a week or so of downtime, but the Austrian coach - who has won both of his previous battles with Emery - remains in post for now.
Team News
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Aston Villa's absence list has grown again of late, as Jacob Ramsey was withdrawn against Liverpool and Amadou Onana pulled out of Belgium's second UEFA Nations League game with a foot injury.
Boubacar Kamara is struggling with a hamstring problem, while defensive duo Ezri Konsa (hip) and Pau Torres (muscular) were also sent home early from international duty - though the latter may yet be available to join returning right-back Matty Cash in the hosts' squad.
Villa captain John McGinn ended a long goal drought by scoring two in two for Scotland, while left-back Lucas Digne made three goal contributions when earning his 50th cap for France; both should start on Saturday, alongside England striker Ollie Watkins, who scored for the Three Lions versus Greece.
Meanwhile, Crystal Palace will be missing Daichi Kamada, as the ex-Lazio midfielder is suspended after being sent off for a high tackle against Fulham. The Eagles also have Adam Wharton on the sidelines due to injury, but Eberechi Eze, Jefferson Lerma and Chadi Riad are all hoping to return.
After Oliver Glasner paired captain and centre-back Marc Guehi with Premier League debutant Justin Devenny in midfield last time out, it therefore remains to be seen how the visitors' engine room will be composed this weekend.
Sure to start up front, French striker Jean-Philippe Mateta has scored his most league goals (four) and recorded his joint-most assists (two) against Aston Villa, having netted a hat-trick in last term's 5-0 win.
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Cash, Carlos, Torres, Digne; Barkley, Tielemans; Bailey, Rogers, McGinn; Watkins
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Henderson; Chalobah, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Doucoure, Lerma, Mitchell; Sarr, Schlupp; Mateta
We say: Aston Villa 2-0 Crystal Palace
After taking a brief break from the daily grind, Aston Villa should return to Premier League action feeling suitably refreshed.
As Crystal Palace have picked up just two points on the road so far, taking anything back to the capital on Saturday evening will be a bonus.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
