Good afternoon everybody and happy new year! I'm Shane, but you can call me Auld Lang Shane for topical reasons. Sore head? Me too, but we'll get through it together, and let's hope that Aston Villa and Palace serve up a New Year's Day feast to distract us from our hangover woes.

Yep, tis' the day to make fresh starts, so it's fitting, then, that Palace look like they might have a new manager in Alan Pardew! He isn't in charge today, but my sources (the BBC) says that the deal is as good as done. Pardew is a decent manager, which is good because, like doing dumbell curls with a bottle of vodka, the Eagles badly need their spirits lifted.

Friday's 3-1 defeat to Southampton at Selhurst Park saw Neil Warnock sacked, just a few months after getting the job. Prior to losing to the Saints, Warnock's side had gone six games without a victory, losing three times in that sequence to leave them in the relegation zone.

Caretaker manager Keith Millen led them to a 0-0 draw away to QPR on Sunday, which is quite impressive given Rangers' home form, but Palace cannot leave their survival hopes in the hands of an unknown quantity such as Millen. Love him or hate him, but Pardew has plenty of experience and he's probably the right man to lead Palace away from the danger zone.

We'll have a look at Villa a little later on but first we really must get cracking on some team news. I'll have this imminently, but first why not have a listen to what I believe is the best New Year's song ever written. It's a serious tune. See you in a few minutes!

ASTON VILLA XI: Guzan; Hutton, Vlaar, Okore, Cissokho; Bacuna, Sanchez, Cleverley, Weimann; Agbonlahor, Benteke

CRYSTAL PALACE XI: Speroni; Kelly, Delaney, Dann, Mariappa; Bolasie, McArthur, Ward, Ledley, Puncheon, Zaha

VILLA SUBS: Given, CLark, Cole, N'Zogbia, Grealish, Lowton, Robinson

PALACE SUBS: Hennessy, Hangeland, Thomas, Gayle, Bannan, Doyle

Right, we'll start with the Villans then and I can tell you that Fabian Delph - who was sent off in Sunday's 0-0 draw with Sunderland - sits this one out obviously, but Gabby Agbonlahor returns from suspension in one of three changes by Paul Lambert from Sunday's 0-0 draw with Sunderland.

Jores Okore comes in to defence to replace Ciaran Clark, who drops to the bench, while Leandro Bacuna replaces the suspended Delph. Christian Benteke spearheads the attack, with Agbonlahor a little further back. In midfield you'll find Bacuna, Carlos Sanchez, Tom Cleverley and Andreas Weimann, while Alan Hutton, Ron Vlaar, Okore and Aly Cissokho line up across defence.

On to the Eagles now and I can confirm that caretaker boss Keith Millen makes just the one change from Sunday's 0-0 draw away to QPR, and it's forced on him as Mile Jedinak, with Australia for the Asia Cup, makes way for Martin Kelly.

Looks like Wilfried Zaha will continue in a central role for Palace, with Yannick Bolasie and Jason Puncheon providing wide support, while James McArthur, Ward and Joe Ledley line up centrally in midfield. Kelly slots in at right-back beside Damien Delaney, Scott Dann and Adrian Mariappa and they start in front of goalkeeper Julian Speroni as usual.

What do we make of Villa so far then? They've been rather lukewarm, haven't they. Lambert's side managed back-to-back wins over Palace at Selhurst Park and Leicester early in December to quell fears of relegation, but they haven't won any of their four since - drawing two and losing two. They're only five points above the danger zone so they'll need to get back to winning ways.

Christian Benteke is going to be key for the Villans this afternoon I reckon. He scored the only goal in the reverse fixture just last month, which was his first goal in a season ravaged by injury. You may remember he followed that up with a pearler against Manchester United but he drew blanks in subsequent games against Swansea and Sunderland, two games which Villa failed to score in, which ought to underline his importance.

Who can Palace look to for a bit of inspiration then? Well, it would've been Jedinak who, with five goals, is their leading goalscorer this season, but he's on international duty so Palace must unearth somebody else in the mean time. Ominously, nobody in their first XI has scored more than one goal this season! Brede Hangeland and Dwight Gayle, both of whom have scored twice, are on the bench. If I was a gambling man, which I am, I'd be backing a Villa win here folks.

PREDICTION! Right, let's wet our whistles with a bit of a pre-match prediction, shall we? As said above, I'm going for a Villa win. Let's go 2-0, with Benteke and Agbonlahor on the scoresheet. Some of these Palace boys might be playing for their futures if and when Pardew comes into the fold, so they'll be looking to impress, but Villa will have too much for them on the day I reckon.

DID YOU KNOW? Villa haven't done a top-flight double over Palace since the 1980-81 campaign - the season they won the first division. What's more is that the Villans haven't lost a New Year's Day fixture for 14 years - a defeat to Chelsea back in 2001. The omens certainly favour Lambert's boys here folks.

Is there any good news for Palace then? Well, with 12 goals, nobody has scored more set-pieces then them this season. Should that inspire confidence? Probably, considering that 0-0 with the Black Cats was Villa's first clean sheet in eight home games. They're not used to shut-outs here at Villa Park, so the visitors' set-piece record might just yield one or two rewards this afternoon.

Right, so both sets of players are entering the field now and we're just a few minutes away now. It's a massive game this; victory for Villa might send them eight points clear of the relegation zone, while a win for Palace - currently 18th - will certainly reinvigorate their survival bid at the right time, just when it seems Pardew is coming in.

I can confirm that Alan Pardew is among the viewers inside Villa Park, folks. Let's see what he makes of his new side. It's not confirmed, but it's a pretty clear indication.

KICKOFF: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand we are well and truly off. Villa, playing from left to right, get us underway. Let's go.

SHOT! The game is only a minute old and Villa already state their intentions, as Benteke fires a low shot at Speroni, but the Palace keeper beats it away at his near post.

Palace haven't got up to much in this half as of yet, with everybody in a yellow shirt bar Wilfried Zaha playing behind the ball. Jores Okore represents a bit of a chink in Villa's armour. I watched him on Boxing Day and he had a mare at Swansea, so Zaha might look to exploit the Villa centre-half a little in this.

SHOT! Another effort for Villa and it's really good play. Bacuna plays an over-the-top ball for the advancing Alan Hutton down the right-hand flank, and the Scot drops a wonderful cross into the box but Agbonlahor couldn't keep his shot down. Promising.

Huge recovering tackle from Damien Delaney there as he got back in the nick of time to thwart Leandro Bacuna, who did brilliantly, before he could take a shot. Great defending.

Some worrying signs from a Villa perspective as Vlaar pulls up with what looks like a knee injury. He's back on, but it doesn't look good for the Dutchman, who isn't moving fluently.

SAVE! Brilliant save from Julian Speroni, who spreads himself brilliantly to thwart Alan Hutton at the back post. On a darker note, Vlaar has been replaced by Ciaran Clark in Villa's defence. That's a blow.

OFF THE BAR! Villa already suffering in the absence of Vlaar as Yannick Bolasie races through on goal after beating Bacuna to the ball, and he looked certain to score but his shot past Guzan bounces off the underside of the crossbar! We've got an excellent game here folks.

We might be seeing another defensive change shortly, and it's Palace this time as Brede Hangeland is seen getting a few orders on an iPad and it looks like it might be Delaney thats going off.

Bacuna, who's having a very mixed game so far, swings in a beautiful cross from a free kick that has Palace out of sorts, but they eventually get it away.

Bacuna continues to blow hot and cold. Having swung in a wonderful ball a moment or two ago, the midfielder tries a cross-field ball to Aly Cissokho, but it ends up hitting a fan. Shocking pass.

Benteke dives under a challenge from James McArthur, but he wins the free kick and this might be promising for Villa...

CLOSE! And it's Bacuna, who continues to blow hot and cold as his free kick skims off the roof of the net. Very decent effort from a good 30 or 35 yards. Fine shot.

SHOT! Jason Puncheon has a rare shot for Palace, curling left-footed over the bar and Guzan was never worried about it. They've gone a bit quiet in the final third since that hitting the bar earlier on.

Jores Okore gives James McArthur an ear-bashing after the former Wigan man went down in the box a little bit too easily. Never a penalty, and thankfully the referee thought so too.

Pardew, draped in a scarf and wearing a pair of spectacles, looks glued to a notebook that he has brought along on the visit to Villa Park. He'll be managing Palace in the coming days, remember. Not confirmed, but the fact he's here should suggest that an appointment is imminent.

Crystal Palace are building up a head of steam for the last 10 minutes it seems, and the fans are encouraging them to attack at every opportunity.

You'd almost forget that Wilfried Zaha was playing here, such has been his anonymity throughout this first half. Mind you, the same could be said for Christian Benteke, who has also been rather quiet.

Tom Cleverley wins a free kick after a reckless challenge from Joe Ledley. This is a good position from Villa. It favours a left-footer so it probably won't be Bacuna, who came close with his last free kick.

But it is Bacuna, whose free kick drills into the wall this time. Poor effort, but it's keeping to the theme of Bacuna's first half. He's been brilliant and woeful in equal measures.

We mentioned how quiet Zaha has been a moment ago, but he would've had a goal if not for substitute Ciaran Clark, who gets back in the nick of time to prevent the Manchester United loanee tapping Martin Kelly's brilliant cross past Guzan. Fine defending.

This one is fizzing out a little after a fantastic start. It could go either way really. It'll be either a mistake or a moment of individual brilliance that could well settle this one.

Well, that's all she wrote in that half, my friends. Pretty dismal first half that once promised so much, with Julian Speroni making two key saves early on to thwart Benteke and Hutton respectively, while Yannick Bolasie raced clear of the Villa defence before hitting the crossbar in a one-on-one with Brad Guzan.

RESTART: Welcome back and we're back underway at Villa Park. Palace get us underway once more but Villa already have it. Paul Lambert will need much more from his front three in Benteke, Agbonlahor and Weimann in this half.

That just about sums up Weimann's afternoon. He does well to make space on the wing, but his cross is reminiscent of a garryowen in Rugby Union. It was a shocker. Better from the Austrian overall, though.

Palace growing into this one a little bit more in recent minutes and Puncheon sees his decent shot blocked by a few Villa bodies. Promising for the Eagles, who really need to win this.

Villa fizz in a good cross now after winning a pretty soft free kick, as Hutton goes to ground after appearing to be caught in the face by Bolasie.

CLOSE! Just one or two signs that Villa are turning the screw now as Benteke powers an Andreas Wiemann corner just wide. That's about as close as he's come all afternoon.

The Villans are being urged on now by the fans but they look to be lacking a little quality in the final third. It's a big half an hour for them, because they've got Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool in their next four league outings.

SUBSTITUTION: Dwight Gayle, who bagged an injury-time winner against Villa last season, comes on to replace the ineffective Zaha. Maybe that'll give Palace a bit of much-needed impetus.

CHANCE! Oh it's a glorious chance passed up by Palace, as McArthur finds himself free in front of goal with just Guzan to beat, but Aly Cissokho comes from nowhere to poke it out for a corner. Brilliant defending.

SUB: Villa shuffle things up a little now as youngster Jack Grealish replaces Tom Cleverley, who's been a bit meh.

We mentioned Palace's shortcomings in the final third prior to kickoff, but Villa have looked equally as bad. It's been a shocking game in terms of quality, it really has.

Grealish has done really well since coming on and he's just won a free kick in a very decent position. This will be whipped in...

CHANCE! The free kick comes to nothing initially, but the ball comes back in Benteke who, with just Speroni to beat, slices his effort and it flies well over the bar. Such a poor finish that could haunt Villa.

This one might just 0-0 written all over it folks. Both sides are in desperate need for a little bit of quality in the final third and they just don't have it. If this one doesn't end 0-0 I'll eat my hat. I swear.

BOOKING: Ciaran Clark picks up the first booking of the game for hauling back Dwight Gayle. It's been a fairly peaceful affair overall.

SHOT! Kelly takes the ball off Carlos Sanchez a little cheaply, but the right-back's shot is one you might expect from a right-back: useless. It's not an exaggeration to say that it might be the last chance in this game, and it wasn't even close.

SUB: Villa make their second sub now as Joe Cole replaces the ineffective Andy Wiemann. Will that spark Villa to a late winner? Very unlikely, but let's see.

CHANCE! Benteke does really well, laying the ball off for Bacuna, whose shot is blocked by Ward I think it was. Huge block, but Bacuna really should be doing better there.

Lots of Villa fans leaving it seems. I don't blame them...

BOOKING: It's 1-1 in the yellow card stakes as Delaney goes into the book for a challenge on Agbonlahor, while Bacuna sees the resulting free kick beaten away by Speroni.

Meanwhile, back on Tyneside, Alan Pardew's former club Newcastle are drawing 3-3 with Burnley. Are you sure you wanted to take the Palace job Pards?

Well, that's all she wrote folks. Let's not sugarcoat it: that was dreadful and praise the lord it's over because it was that bad. So little chances in a game lacking so much quality in the final third. Really poor.

Anyways, that's all we've got time for this afternoon. Stay tuned for ratings, analysis and all that good stuff. Happy new year again folks.