Perhaps the most important game of the week will take place on Sunday between Crystal Palace and Hull City. After what seemed like an easy escape for both of them with just three games to go, the duo endured shocking defeats last week, sending them dangerously close to the relegation zone. A win at Selhurst Park on Sunday for Hull will undoubtedly be a big step towards survival.
Team News
Crystal Palace- Defence will be Sam Allardyce’s biggest concern going into this hugely important game. With star defender Mamadou Sakho out for the rest of the season, the former English manager will have to bring in James Tomkins and Damien Delaney in the central defence. Though neither will be fully fit, Allardyce knows the terrible outcome of playing four full-backs from their defeat against Manchester City last week.
Yohan Cabaye is expected to return in the midfield alongside Luke Milivojevic. With the defence crumbling, Palace will need an extra cushion for the back line. Apart from Sakho, Connor Wickham and Pape Souare are also ruled out for the season with a knee and thigh injury respectively.
Hull City- Marco Silva will miss Liverpool loanee Lazar Markovic for the rest of the season after the winger suffered a serious ankle injury last game against Sunderland. However, a welcome news would be the return of Omar Elabdellaoui. He was present in the training and looked comfortably out of his back injury.
Although not as impactful as Markovic, his availability would allow Silva to push Elmohamady up in the attack. Apart from that, the boss is likely to change his midfield to adjust with Palace’s physicality. The long-term injuries feature Will Keane, Moses Odubajo and Ryan Mason
Predicted Line-ups
Crystal Palace- Hennessey; Ward, Tomkins, Delaney, Van Aanholt; Cabaye, McArthur; Zaha, Puncheon, Townsend; Benteke
Hull City- Jakupovic; Elabdellaoui, Ranocchia, Maguire, Robertson; Elmohamady, Huddlestone, N’Diaye, Grosicki; Niasse, Hernandez
Key Players
Crystal Palace- The attacking trio of Christian Benteke, Wilfred Zaha and Andros Townsend has the ability to wreak havoc in Hull City’s defence. There are 23 goals and 19 assists among them and with the season coming to a tense end, they are likely to up their game.
Hull City- Everton loanee Oumar Niasse has shown what he is capable of in the second half of the season and Silva would expect his vibrant forward to get a quick first goal at Selhurst Park and keep Palace on the back foot. Abel Hernandez could also be a huge problem for Palace’s defence given the lack of a proper centre-half at the moment.
Betting Odds
Crystal Palace @ 2.10
Draw @ 3.60
Hull City @ 3.75
