Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa prediction: Crystal Palace line-up
Crystal Palace play host to newly-promoted Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday and the Eagles will be looking to get back to winning ways after suffering a shock penalty-shootout defeat at the hands of Colchester United in the EFL Cup on Tuesday.
Roy Hodgson’s side took everyone by surprise in Round 3 of the Premier League when they humbled Man United at Old Trafford after losing their first couple of fixtures.
Palace are likely to have their work cut out against Villa, who registered their first three points of the season with a 2-1 victory over Everton at home last week. With both teams having picked up a win each so far, Saturday’s contest at Selhurst Park looks to have the making of a really intriguing battle.
Team News
Roy Hodgson is expected to make radical changes to the eleven that played in the EFL Cup in the midweek, with several of the fringe players likely to make way for the regular ones.
The Eagles are going to have to cope with the absence of centre-back duo of James Tomkins (hip) and Mamadou Sakho (knee) but apart from that, there are no notable absentees due to injuries or suspensions.
Predicted Crystal Palace XI
Formation: 4-4-2
Manager: Roy Hodgson
Vicente Guaita (GK)
The Spaniard has already made his presence felt between the sticks this season with some key saves and he is expected to continue in the No.1 role.
Joel Ward (RB)
The right-back had a decent outing against Man United last week and he should be fresh to start on Saturday after being rested for the midweek game.
Martin Kelly (CB)
The former Liverpool man was lucky not to have given away a penalty in the 2-1 win against United but he had a good game overall.
Gary Cahill (CB)
The former England international kept United’s attackers at bay in the previous game and came up with several crucial aerial interventions. He definitely deserves to start consistently at the back for the Eagles.
Patrick van Aanholt (LB)
The Dutchman will be in high spirits after scoring the stoppage-time winner at Old Trafford last week and the Palace fans will be hoping for him to come good once again on Saturday.
Luka Milivojevic (CM)
Palace’s influential midfield general had a rather lacklustre game against United and he will be expected to put in a better performance this time around.
James McArthur (CM)
The Scotsman’s guile, tenacity and industry in the midfield might go a long way towards thwarting Villa this weekend.
Jeffrey Schlupp (LM)
The former Leicester City star worked hard last week and caused a few problems for the United backline with his pace, meaning that he is likely to be handed another start.
Andros Townsend (RM)
The tricky winger started in the EFL Cup game after coming on as a substitute at Old Trafford and he is expected to be in the queue for a starting role against Villa this weekend.
Jordan Ayew (ST)
The Ghanaian picked up his first goal of the season against Man United last week and the Eagles’ fans will be hoping that he can make it a habit of finding the net regularly this term.
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Wilfried Zaha (ST)
Palace’s star attacker is yet to hit top gear in the Premier League so far and the game against Villa might just be the one in which he finally hits the ground running.
