Aston Villa and Crystal Palace are two of the country's most famous clubs, with long and storied histories in the English game, and while they have faced off against one another a fair number of times since their initial meeting 110 years ago, they probably haven't played each other as often as you might have first assumed.
In the years since that first meeting back in 1913, the two sides have only played each other 51 times, and we at Football FanCast have everything you need to know as the two teams prepare to meet again in the Premier League.
It might still be early in the season, but with five games under their belt for Palace and six for Villa, we can start to draw conclusions from their form and how they're approaching the league this year, giving us some idea of how it'll play out at Villa Park this Saturday.
The hosts have had a real rollercoaster start to their campaign, with a nightmare 5-1 league defeat away to Newcastle United, immediately followed by a 4-0 home win against Everton the following weekend. They followed that up with three wins on the bounce, beating Burnley 3-1 and Hibernian home and away to qualify for the Europa Conference League. Although, just as they were looking like they had found some genuine form, they lost 3-0 away to Liverpool – and it could've been a lot worse.
For Palace's part, they have yet to be able to show much consistency either, with two league wins against Sheffield United and Wolverhampton Wanderers, a loss against ten-man Arsenal and a draw away to Brentford.
Those results leave the visitors in seventh place on seven points and Villa in tenth place on six points, leaving the game evenly poised for the neutral to enjoy.
Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace: What's their head-to-head record?
In total, Villa and Palace have played one another 51 times across all competitions since that first meeting over a century ago, meaning that despite both sides being staples of English football, they have only played an average of 0.46 times a year.
The primary reason for this strange lack of games is the 49-year gap between their first game – an FA Cup tie in 1913 – and their second game – another FA Cup tie, this time in 1962. This gap is due to Palace spending much of the first half of the 20th century in the lower leagues, constantly moving between the fourth, third and second divisions.
This gap in quality was clear to see when the two teams finally started to play one another regularly in the late 60s, and Villa would often come away winners from their encounters with the South London side.
In fact, Palace would win just three of their 20 clashes with Villa between 1968 and 1991, while their Birmingham opposition won ten times. So, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to hear that overall, it's the Villans that have the advantage in this fixture, coming away the victors 22 times to Palace's 14.
That said, the gap has narrowed in recent years, and this fixture has become increasingly competitive.
Aston Villa Wins
22
Draws
15
Crystal Palace Wins
14
Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace: What's their record at Villa Park?
With Villa's historical dominance in this fixture, it should come as no surprise that games played at Villa Park almost always result in a victory for the Claret and Blue. Although, perhaps the seeming inevitability of that result is a little unexpected.
In the 26 games played in the West Midlands, Villa have emerged victorious 17 times, giving them a staggeringly impressive win rate of 65.3%.
For their part, Palace have won just three games at Villa Park, a shockingly low win rate of 11.5%.
Aston Villa Wins
17
Draws
6
Crystal Palace Wins
3
Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace: What's their record at Selhurst Park?
While their form away from home in this fixture is undeniably abysmal, Palace fans can at least rest assured that when they are playing host to their Claret and Blue opposition, they tend to fair much better – even if they can't quite recreate the sheer dominance displayed by Villa at home.
In the 24 games that have been played at Selhurst Park over the years, the Eagles have won 11 of them, giving them a respectable win rate of 45.8%.
The second most likely outcome in South London is a draw, with the spoils being shared on nine separate occasions, or about 37.5% of the time, while Villa have won just four games away from home.
Aston Villa Wins
4
Draws
9
Crystal Palace Wins
11
Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace: Which team has the most goals?
To win more games, you generally have to score more goals, right? Well, that's certainly the case in this fixture, as it's once again the Villans that emerge from this head-to-head victorious.
In the 51 games between the sides, Villa have found the back of the net 70 times, meaning they average 1.3 goals per game against their South London opponents.
Unfortunately, it's less pleasant reading for the Palace faithful as they have only managed to score 40 goals in the 51 times this fixture has been contested, giving them a paltry ratio of just 0.7 goals per game.
Aston Villa Goals
70
Crystal Palace Goals
48
Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace: What happened in last season's fixtures?
The two sides met twice last year, with Palace playing host in August and Villa doing so in March.
The Eagles claimed all three points in South London – despite Ollie Watkins opening to scoring on 5 minutes – thanks to a brace from former winger and club talisman Wilfried Zaha and another goal from Jean-Philippe Mateta. Interestingly, Villa still had Steven Gerrard in the dugout at the time.
The Claret and Blue enacted their revenge seven months later when they ran out 1-0 victors at home thanks to a Joachim Anderson own goal on 27 minutes. Patrick Vieira would be sacked just 13 days later.
Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace: What is Villa's biggest win?
Despite the 50 games that followed, Villa's biggest win against Palace came back in their first encounter 110 years ago.
It was an FA Cup 3rd round tie, played at Villa Park in front of 44,000 fans who saw the Villans run riot and put five past their opponents to no reply.
The goals came courtesy of braces from Harold Halse and Clem Stephenson and a single effort from Joe Bache.
The Lions would rack up another big scoreline, 4-3, in their next game against the Eagles, but they have yet to score five or more against the South Londoners since.
Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace: What is Palace's biggest win?
While still a little while ago, Palace's biggest win over the West Midlands side is a lot more recent than Villa's. It came in the fourth round of the League Cup in 1994 at Selhurst Park.
Despite Villa opening the scoring in the 33rd minute thanks to a goal from Damian Atkinson, the home side rallied and put four past their opponents in the second half thanks to braces from Chris Armstrong and Gareth Southgate – yes, that Gareth Southgate.
Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace: What are the recent results?
Despite Villa's overall dominance in this fixture – especially in the past – the last few years of it have been anything but predictable.
The last five games have seen both sides come away with two wins and one draw. Last season saw both teams come away with three points out of six, and the season before that saw Villa win away while Palace was able to snatch a point at Villa Park.
This fixture might have started as an incredibly one-sided one, but – luckily for us – it certainly isn't anymore.
Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace: When is it?
Aston Villa host Crystal Palace on Saturday 16th September at 3pm British Summer Time. As big as these two clubs are, it's not traditionally one of the Premier League's 'big' fixtures.
That, however, doesn't mean it isn't an exciting one.
We've already seen how close these two sides are at the moment, and with the way they've started their respective league campaigns, they'll both be desperate to use this game to kick on.
In Villa's case, they have spent all summer recruiting major names from across the continent in a bid to support new boss Unai Emery as he looks to establish the club as a genuine contender for those Champions League places among the 'big six'.
The likes of Pau Torres, Moussa Diaby, Youri Tielemans and Nicolo Zaniolo will also be looking to prove themselves after the international break.
On the other hand, Palace will be looking to pick up more points early on in the season as they aim to better their 11th-placed finish last year. Roy Hodgson will also be looking to prove that he's still got it after all these years, and with his track record at the club, who would bet against him?
Whatever happens, if the last couple of years are anything to go by, picking a winner will be incredibly difficult – which can only be a good thing for the neutral.