"There are still 15 matches left to play, and that's an awful lot of football. "You should keep your powder dry when it comes to discussing six-pointers for the last four or five games of the season when it is then pretty obvious what may happen.

"There are 45 points left to play for, and normally 37 or 38 points keep you in the league."

Palace will be boosted by the return of Vicente Guaita and Wayne Hennessey for their match on the south coast.

The club's third-choice goalkeeper Julian Speroni, 39, has played the last two matches, with Guaita and Hennessey both injured.

Hodgson is likely to turn to Guaita but the Palace boss said he would not hesitate to select Hennessey, despite the Football Association's ongoing investigation into his alleged Nazi salute.

Hennessey has until the end of this month to respond to a charge of bringing the game into disrepute.

Hodgson will also have Connor Wickham at his disposal once more, after the striker ended his injury nightmare by scoring in Palace's fourth-round FA Cup win against Tottenham.

Wickham netted his first goal in 799 days on what was his first start in more than two years last weekend and Hodgson added: "Connor deserves a lot of credit for getting into the position he is in today because it has taken him two years.

"It was a big moment for him on Saturday, to get out there and wear the Palace shirt. It ended very happily for him with a goal – by being in the right place and taking the chance – and also by being on the winning team.

"I don't want to build things up too much, and put any pressure on him. We can just hope he is going to continue doing what he has done.

"But, for the last six weeks he has been pain-free and trouble-free – and if he keeps that going we are hopeful we will get the player back that Palace fans saw two and a half years ago."

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