It might seem an odd thing to say about a team in a play-off final but Crystal Palace are in a state of flux.

A side that earlier in the season relied on two wingers hugging the touchline and littering the box with crosses is still adjusting to the methods of a manager six months into the job.

Ian Holloway claims to be an advocate of old-fashioned wing play but since his arrival Palace have become narrower, more intricate going forward and more compact in midfield.

The Eagles’ primary weapons remain the same – Wilfried Zaha, Jonathan Williams and Yannick Bolasie – but the areas those players operate in most have been adjusted.

Zaha may start wide left of a front three with Williams on the right but both will wander inside, looking to exploit space behind Watford’s midfield and to isolate defenders one on one.

This makes Holloway’s side less predictable and their front men harder to mark, but Palace supporters have also been frustrated on the not infrequent occasions when their most dangerous attackers have got lost in the traffic of central midfield.

Watford meanwhile, will need to be decisive about whose job it is to nullify the threat.

In the 2-2 draw at Vicarage Road in February, the right and left-side defenders in Watford’s back three took primary responsibility for Palace’s wide men and if the Eagles decide to attack inside, that should make it easier for the Hornets to absorb.

Holloway may choose therefore to edge towards the Eagles’ wider, early-season approach, exploiting Watford’s gaps where a back four’s full-backs would normally be.

The decision for Gianfranco Zola then is whether to defend from the flanks, and possibly start a more mobile Ikechi Anya out wide instead of Marco Cassetti, or to trust his defenders to do the job.

Either way the Hornets, who are likely to dictate the momentum of the match, will need to guard against any false sense of security, throwing too many players forward and leaving themselves vulnerable on the break.

That is most likely to happen later on in the contest and it’s no surprise Palace have scored almost twice as many goals this season in the second half of games as they have in the first.

The longer the final remains tight, the likelier Palace are to spring a surprise.

Watford though, can put their opponents away by getting behind the sturdy midfield pairing of Mile Jedinak and Kagisho Dikgacoi and exploiting the Eagles’ creaky defence.

To do that, Nathaniel Chalobah and Almen Abdi will need to be at their incisive best, changing lines of attack and having the courage to pass inside rather than in front of Palace’s deep-lying midfield.

Once through to the final third, Watford will create chances.

Right-back Joel Ward is the most reliable of Palace’s back four, but centre-halves Damien Dalaney and Danny Gabbidon struggle to handle pace, while left-back Dean Moxey can be positionally wayward.

If Matej Vydra and Troy Deeney are in the mood and given the right service, there should only be one winner at Wembley.