Crystal Palace are travelling to Stamford Bridge for their Premier League tie against Chelsea on Saturday. The Eagles are coming off a heartbreaking 2-3 loss against Manchester United at home and will need to uplift themselves in order to get any points out of this fixture.
Roy Hodgson’s side would have climbed all the way up to 13th place with a win and looked like achieving that miraculous feat by taking the 2-goal lead.
But, after Chris Smalling’s header started a comeback from an improving United, Romelu Lukaku swept in his 99th Premier League goal to pile the pressure on the tiring hosts.
And, with 91 minutes on the clock, Matic smashed in a dipping shot from 25 yards to consign Palace to another week in the drop zone and move United above Liverpool.
A back to back fixture against title challengers are not the ideal climate for a relegation-threatened side but after the horrific start to the season that Palace underwent they do not have much room for complaining.
Chelsea are not in the best of form either after the 1-0 loss to Manchester City and being kicked out of the top-four by a supercharged Tottenham Hotspur side. Antonio Conte’s job is on the line with several big names being constantly linked to the club.
There is no better time than now to hit back at a low morale Blues side to get the advantage in the survival battle. Here is how the Eagles might lineup on gameday.
Formation: 4-4-2
Defence
Wayne Hennessey is the current number one ahead of Julian Speroni after finding a bit of consistency in between the sticks. The 31-year-old should find himself behind the centre-back pairing of Martin Kelly and James Tomkins.
Both Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Patrick van Aanholt were remarkable in the previous tie and is expected to resume their duties from the wide areas.
Midfield
Luka Milivojevic and James McArthur might appear in the holding midfield role. The duo will have heavy defensive responsibilities against the likes of N’Golo Kante and Cesc Fabregas.
They should get flanked by Andros Townsend and Wilfred Zaha. The Ivory Coast international has returned to training with the first team after spending 5-weeks out on the sidelines with a knee ligament injury.
Attack
Christian Benteke has looked much better with his new strike force partner, Alexander Sorloth. Sorloth arrived in the January window and takes much of the pressure off Benteke by falling back and linking the game up.
