Crystal Palace will kick off the New Year with a trip to the St. Mary’s, as they face off against Southampton on Tuesday night.
The Eagles, after a horrendous start to the 2017/18 season, have been on the road to redemption in recent weeks. Roy Hodgson’s side have been able to eke out of the relegation zone and sit at 17th place in the Premier League table, just a point above West Ham United. The manager will be hoping to pull further away from the drop zone with a win over the Saints, who themselves have been struggling of late.
Palace have lost just one of their last 10 fixtures in the league. After their weekend’s performance against Manchester City, when they managed to hold the runaway leaders to a goalless draw to bring their 18-match winning run to a halt, Hodgson’ side will come into Tuesday’s game high on confidence.
Defender Scott Dann and midfielder Jason Puncheon are set to miss out on Tuesday’s encounter after they were taken off injured during the weekend game against City. On-loan midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek will undergo a late fitness test to determine his availability, along with James McArthur, while Mamadou Sakho, Joel Ward and Connor Wickham are all definite absentees.
Here’s how the Eagles might take the field against Mauricio Pellegrino’s side on Tuesday:
The Welshman had a very good game against City over the weekend and might edge out veteran shot-stopper Julian Speroni for a place in the starting XI.
With the injury to Joel Ward, the versatile defender on loan from Manchester United could find himself in the starting line-up once again on Tuesday.
Had a solid game on Sunday and should continue in the heart of the defence in the absence of Scott Dann and Mamadou Sakho.
Partnering Kelly in the backline for the Eagles should be James Tomkins. The former West Ham United man has been in good form coming into the game and will want to build on it.
Having sat out of the weekend encounter, former Leicester City man Jeffrey Schlupp should be in line for a return to the line-up at left-back, in place of Patrick van Aanholt.
The Frenchman is a key player for the Eagles and leads by example on the field. A definite starter in the middle of the park.
The Serbian will still be reeling from the penalty he missed on Sunday, which could have handed his side a win against City. Will be keen on bouncing back with a strong display against the Saints.
The Dutchman has had game time come at a premium but put in a decent shift against City. Could continue in the three-man central midfield for Palace.
The former Tottenham Hotspur star will need to provide the spark from the wide areas for the Eagles against a disciplined Southampton side.
The big Belgian has found the going tough this term. Will need to start delivering goals on a consistent basis if Palace are to survive the drop.
Inarguably the most important player for Palace on the pitch, the Ivory Coast international is irremovable from the starting line-up for the Eagles.
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