Crystal Palace players celebrate after scoring. (Getty Images)
Crystal Palace’s revival under Roy Hodgson seems to have taken a dive off a cliff. Their last win was against Burnley back in mid-January and the crippling injury list only seems to worsen their troubles.
The Eagles’ run of four defeats in 6 games means they are back in the relegation zone with a goal difference of -19 and an injury list around ten names long.
And the worst part? A trip to Chelsea is to come next.
Joel Ward may just make it on Saturday while Yohan Cabaye is still doubtful. Mamadou Sakho, Julian Speroni, Bakary Sako, Scott Dann, Jason Puncheon, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Connor Wickham and Wilfried Zaha all remain out with various injuries.
Hodgson’s side lined-up in a 4-4-2 against Man United and got themselves two goals up so he may well go with something very similar.
GK – Wayne Hennessey
Solid enough between the sticks, he probably won’t let Palace down but he will have to work hard on the day.
RB – Aaron Wan-Bissaka
With Joel Ward’s inclusion continuing to be doubtful, Wan-Bissaka is likely to be deployed in this role once more.
CB – Martin Kelly
Another one who is solid but he may struggle against Eden Hazard et al.
CB – James Tomkins
Highly rated over the years but made a bad positional error to allow Manchester United back into the game on Monday night and may be faced with a crisis of confidence.
LB – Patrick van Aanholt
The Dutchman is capable of getting forward against his old club and causing problems, however, the problem is the gap he usually leaves and Chelsea have the players to waltz into them and score at will.
RW – Andros Townsend
The winger scored, albeit luckily, against Manchester United and will run at the Chelsea defence all day long. Whether it leads to success or blind alleys, remains to be seen.
CM – Luka Milivojevic
Doing OK in the middle but the club could do with Cabaye back pretty quickly.
CM – James McArthur
Capable of picking out a pass from the midfield but won’t get much time on the ball up against this Blues side.
LW – Jeffrey Schlupp
The ex-Leicester City man can swap positions with van Aanholt but instead, he may well be doubling up with him at left-back as Chelsea attack.
ST – Christian Benteke
Townsend, in particular, should be aware of his presence rather than dribbling too often; good balls into the box could bring rewards with Benteke in the side.
ST – Alexander Sorloth
Not prolific but capable alongside Benteke up front.
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