Norwich City's unbeaten run against the wintry weather is likely to face its first real threat at the weekend.

The Canaries have yet to lose a match to the cold snap so far this season, with away fixtures at Derby County and Coventry City and the home game against Portsmouth all going ahead as planned thanks to undersoil heating.

But there is no such luxury at Crystal Palace and City's trip to Selhurst Park on Boxing Day (1pm) could go the same way as countless other fixtures across the country unless there is an improvement in the conditions.

Daytime temperatures in the capital are expected to remain around freezing point for the rest of the week and although there are suggestions that they could rise slightly over the Christmas weekend, a blank afternoon for the Canaries is clearly already a possibility.

It's a case of supporters from both sides keeping their fingers crossed, although those looking for positives should note that Palace's previous home fixture, against Hull on December 11, did go ahead as planned, despite the freezing temperatures.

'We don't have undersoil heating here but we do have excellent covers and they did their job well before the Hull game,' said a club spokesman. 'It was a 5.20pm kick-off but there were no problems with the pitch.

'As far as the Norwich game is concerned we'll just have to wait and see what the weather is like later in the week. It's obviously too early to say what the chances are at the moment.'