Stoke City are struggling of late in the Premier League and have now gone four matches without a win. Mark Hughes’ men see themselves in the 11th position in the table at the moment, and are level on points with newly-promoted side Burnley, edging them only by goal difference.
Crystal Palace’s nightmarish run continued last week. They have lost five of their last six games and are currently dwelling in the relegation zone. They are 19th in the league standings, level with Sunderland to whom they lost by a big margin last time.
Team News
Stoke City- Stoke City are quite fortunate on the injury front if compared to struggling Crystal Palace. Great news for Mark Hughes could be the return of Glen Johnson and star midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri. The two were out with Achilles and calf injury respectively. With them back in the line-up to play Palace, Hughes will have a strong squad at his disposal.
Among the long-term injuries, Hughes will miss the likes of Jonathan Walters and Geoff Cameron, who are out with knee injuries. Jack Butland is out with an ankle injury and Stephen Ireland is still out with a broken leg.
Crystal Palace – Midfielder Yohan Cabaye just might miss out after coming off injured against Sunderland with an ankle injury, while Scott Dann remains a huge doubt for the crucial game. Allardyce had earlier stated the weakness in his midfield and with his new buy Milivojevic yet to get a work permit, the former England boss will have a tough time manoeuvring his midfield.
Positive news could be the return of left-back Jeffrey Schlupp, who is likely to be back from a hamstring problem in time to face Stoke. The former Leicester City player arrived at Selhurst Park this winter. Goalie Steve Mandanda remains out with a knee injury and Bakary Sako would still be sidelined with a hamstring. Apart from that, Connor Wickham (ACL), Jonathan Benteke (knee) and Pape Souare (broken leg) are all out with long-term injuries.
Predicted Line-Up
Stoke City (4-2-3-1): Grant; Bardsley, Shawcross, Martins Indi, Pieters; Whelan, Adam; Afellay, Allen, Arnautovic; Crouch
Crystal Palace (5-4-1 formation): Hennessey; Ward, Dann, Delaney, Tomkins, van Aanholt; Zaha, McArthur, Cabaye, Puncheon; Benteke
Key Players
Stoke City – Peter Crouch is leading the team from the front as the old man of Premier League has already netted six times after starting late with due to an injury. Midfielder Joe Allen is the most effective weapon Hughes has in his squad at the moment.
Crystal Palace – Christian Benteke and James McArthur will undoubtedly be the biggest threat for the Potters and Allardyce will hope they get on the scoresheet early this time to remove the nervousness in the team. Wilfred Zaha has been quite inconsistent this season so far and fans will expect their star winger to get his scoring touch back.
Odds
Stoke City – 2.15
Draw- 3.30
Crystal Palace – 3.90
