Back in October, Crystal Palace fans were not happy with Luka Milivojevic following a defeat to Manchester City.

While it was perhaps harsh criticism given the level of opposition that day, the overriding theme from the supporters' complaints were based on the win against West Ham the week before losing to Pep Guardiola's men.

They felt that Roy Hodgson's side performed better without the Serbia international involved in the starting XI.

Now, while that might've sounded a tad reactionary at the time, given the difference in quality between the Hammers and the Citizens, those fans have since been proven right by the Eagles' recent winning run.

The ex-Anderlecht man is Crystal Palace's captain, but even that didn't see Hodgson immediately reinstate him into the starting XI after he recovered from illness.

Milivojevic missed the 1-0 win over Newcastle in which Patrick van Aanholt's freekick handed the south Londoners all three points, which added a bit more weight to the aforementioned argument from the supporters on Twitter.

Furthermore, their claims from October were only bolstered even more when the skipper was left on the bench for the following game against Brighton, in which the Eagles picked up three more points.

Perhaps keen to stick to a winning formula, Hodgson opted for the same XI for the next game against Watford, where Crystal Palace were again victorious without Milivojevic, who was introduced as a substitute with 20 minutes remaining.

While two games in September against West Ham and Manchester City did little to justify the Palace supporters' claims, these recent three matches - in which the Eagles have won three games in a row without the Serbian - does mean that those fans have now been proven right.

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For now at least, it does appear that the former England manager's XI operates better without Milivojevic.

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