Crystal Palace have a very tough task to cut out when they face Southampton this weekend. The Eagles had a very miserable start this season as they have failed to score a single goal in the last four matches in the Premier League.
Their defeat against Burnley put an end to Frank de Boer’s managerial campaign and former England manager Roy Hodgson has been called to steer them in this crisis situation. This upcoming match will be the first game under his charge and the supporters would be hoping thing turns out differently when the team takes the field.
The Eagles need to set the ball rolling as they have a number of tough fixtures ahead with Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea waiting for them on the lines. Should Hodgson manage to grind out a positive result in favour of them, it would give them a stage to fight in the next matches.
Predicted 4-3-3 Crystal Palace Starting Lineup Against Southampton
Defence
Wayne Hennessey will be looking forward to starting a new life under the new manager. The Wales international has been very error prone in goal and needs to be in complete control of his box.
Hodgson is expected to tweak the backline a bit. Mamadou Sakho was involved with the Palace U32s earlier and might make his Palace debut this season. The French international was a summer deadline day signing from Liverpool and is yet to feature for the Eagles.
James Tomkins is also in line to get back to shape and he should partner the big French in the Palace backline. Patrick Van Aanholt’s pace and trickery will be used from the left side while Joel Ward is a definite starter on the opposite side.
Midfield
Midfield is one section which is very well stocked at the Selhurst Park right now. Luka Milivojevic will start in the deep lying role. James McArthur and Ruben Loftus-Cheek will be in front of him, giving the side a whole new dimension.
Attack
The unavailability of Wilfried Zaha will be felt but Jason Puncheon has the quality to fill in the void. The 31-year-old will start on the left side.
Aaron Townsend has been pretty inconsistent and should make things up. He will feature on the right side. Christian Benteke is yet to open his account and will be hoping to end his goal drought against the Saints.
Here is how they might line up:
