Crystal Palace will surely be discouraged after the late winner by Tottenham Hotspur in the last game that disrupted Eagles’ brilliant run prior to that. Sam Allardyce’s side sit 12th in the league table with 38 points and while the threat of relegation looks to be fading, for now, the Eagles are yet to face Manchester City and United in the remaining four games, which could make or break their season.
They welcome Burnley next and given their recent home form, they would be looking for a routine win. And their recent record against the Clarets shows they are the clear favourites. Palace are unbeaten against Burnley in their last 10 games in all competition on their home soil. And Burnley’s away form is another advantage for them.
Strongest Crystal Palace XI vs Burnley
Defence
Wayne Hennessey will start under the bar. The Wales international has been brilliant in the position of late, and Steve Mandanda has gone down the pecking order. Allardyce has huge trust on him.
Palace put a stubborn defence against Tottenham last game and Allardyce is unlikely to change his backline except for the huge miss of Mamadou Sakho. The Liverpool loanee has been phenomenal this season quickly becoming a fan favourite with his aggressive displays. And when the French defender limped off the field in the game against Spurs, a chunk of hope also got lost.
Damien Delaney had replaced him in the early minutes of the second half and we expect the Irish international to continue taking his place alongside Martin Kelly in the central defence.
The defensive flanks will be taken by Jefferey Schlupp and Joel Ward. Despite starting his stint at the London club as a second fiddle to Patrick Van Aanholt in the winter, the 24-year-old has looked solid at the back and has moved up the order.
Midfield
The transformation of midfield has been a breath of fresh air for the Eagles and the man standing at the centre of all that is Luka Milivojevic. The Serbian international’s ability to hold the ball in pressure situations and releasing the wingers in the attacking third with impeccable timing makes Palace extremely productive from the deep midfield.
His assuring anchor role from the middle of the park enables Jason Puncheon and Yohan Cabaye to create all kinds of problems for the opponent’s defence. Allardyce opted to start with James McArthur in the attacking midfield against Spurs, but we expect Cabaye to return to it.
Attack
The attacking trio will not change this time too. Wilfred Zaha and Andros Townsend will start on the wings and Benteke will play as the centre-forward.
