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Crystal Palace v Bristol City

Neil Warnock will have drilled into his players the need for them to head to the West Country with a first leg lead, and while they won't have it all their own way the Eagles should be expected to edge this one.

It is a well know fact that Palace head into the play-offs on the back of a fine run of form in the league, and the 5-0 stuffing of Burnley on the final day of the season was a statement of intent if ever there was one.

However, having had very little pressure on them in their relentless charge to the play-offs, they are now seen by many as the side to beat and what effect that could have on the players only time will tell, and while they have to be feared and are playing more than well enough to win this one, Eagles fans should right off City at their peril.

Bristol City have not occupied top spot and a place in the play-offs for large parts of the season by being a bad team, and while Gary Johnson will be disappointed his side lost out on the top two after a poor finish to the season, a final day drubbing of Preston at Ashton Gate will have helped matters and they will head to the capital determined to put up the same sorts of performances which have made them tough to play against all season.

There is no question that the Robins will have to play pretty special to leave Selhurst Park with a win, or maybe a draw, but all season they have been tough to beat and very rarely get spanked and with that in mind and Johnson eager to make sure they are still in the game come the second leg, backing Palace to win this one 2-1 might not be the worst bet in the world.

Watford v Hull

Watford are in absolute freefall at the moment and look a shadow of the team that roared into a nine point lead earlier in the season, and while they might not lose this opening leg in front of a packed house, backing Hull to head back north with a solid draw looks the best bet.

Ever since the departure of Marlon King to Wigan the Hornets seems to have lost all of their sting and with Nathan Ellington once again failing to impress and Darius Henderson not looking the player he was at the start of the season, Watford in the end were very lucky even to make the top six.

With just two wins coming from their last 15 games and the likes of relegated Scunthorpe winning at Vicarage Road two weeks ago, Aidy Boothroyd will have it all to do if he is to change things around now, and he will know that his side will be up against a Hull side who have improved dramatically since the turn of the year.

Phil Brown has done a superb job at the KC Stadium and has organised them into a well-drilled unit who know how to defend and how to hurt teams at the other end, and having finished third in the league the Tigers will be determined to now go on and complete the job.

Despite the fact Hull finished above Watford, all of the pressure seems to be on the Hornets as they look to bounce straight back to the Premiership, and this could play straight into the hands of this underrated Hull side, and while Brown would love a win, he will set his team up not to get beat as he knows how well they have been playing at the KC all season.

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