On Saturday, Hodgson's side will travel to Burnley looking to arrest a slide down the table from sixth to 13th.

"I don't think you should confuse form with results," he said. "I don't know we are in mixed form. Our form hasn't particularly dipped from the Man City game through to the Liverpool game.

"We have had five tough fixtures and I don't think we've performed badly in any of them, but of course because we've been playing the top sides we've been unable to get many points.

"But we've been close to doing so on many occasions so I would not equate form and results. I don't think our form is bad, but our results have been bad.

"We did fear we might be in for that type of period when we looked at the fixture list and we were playing the top five teams in the country one after another."

Sean Dyche's Burnley, on the other hand, are three points ahead of Palace and have triumphed 3-0 in their last two games.

Hodgson added: "We have every respect for them. We know they are a difficult nut to crack at all times and we have to be ready for the type of game it will be."

This is the start of a busy schedule for all teams in the Premier League and Palace will play seven times between now and the end of the year.

It means the former England manager will have to consider rotation during a hectic period of the season.

"It's a time when your squad is really tested," Hodgson said. "You really need everybody in good form, physical condition and in good mental condition.

"It's unrealistic to expect 11 players to carry out every 90 minutes you're going to play, so it's important everyone's ready."

The Palace boss confirmed he would be without Joel Ward for Saturday's trip to Turf Moor after the defender suffered a serious knee injury in the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool last weekend.