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It would be Saturday 1 December before Crystal Palace first tasted victory at home in the Premier League during the 2018/2019 season.

That vital Selhurst Park win came against a struggling Burnley team and allowed Eagles fans everywhere to breathe a collective sigh of relief as they finally picked up three points on their own patch before Christmas.

That campaign, Roy Hodgson's men were dealt a particularly taxing run of home matches in the first few months, having to face and falling to defeat to the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, and also clashing with Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

However, some of the blame for the dismal start to the term in south London had to lay at Palace's own door as they either lost or failed to beat teams such as Southampton or Newcastle United.

Whilst it was hardly comparable with the infamous start under Frank de Boer and Hodgson in 2017/2018, it made things needlessly difficult for the South Londoners throughout the season.

While they were never really fully sucked into the relegation battle and deservedly ended up in mid-table, they could have been a lot more comfortable and not spent most of 2018/19 looking over their shoulders had they collected an early home triumph or two.

Which is why members of the Selhurst faithful would have been delighted to see some of the early-season home games they've been dealt when the 2019/2020 Premier League fixtures were announced on Thursday morning.

The Eagles don't have to welcome a member of the "Big Six" to SE25 until mid-October, albeit it will be the two-time reigning champions Manchester City.

Before the visit of Pep Guardiola's men, Hodgson's boys will get to check out two of the newly-promoted sides in the form of Aston Villa and Norwich City. They face off with Everton and Wolves in the other two before Pep Guardiola's men roll into town.

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This is a huge chance to improve on the horrific home start of last season as they could even make a significant improvement on their whole campaign this time around on the opening day.

After what could be a promising summer of change in terms of playing personnel at the club, Palace will be confident they can overcome the Toffees first up and get that elusive first home scalp before mid-August has even arrived.

Even if they don't, they'll feel like extra Premier League experience can give them the edge in the second and fourth league Selhurst matches and be determined to sleigh Europa-League stricken Wolves in late September. Hodgson must take this golden opportunity to lay to rest the home demons of last term.