Crystal Palace are travelling to the Emirates for their Premier League fixture against Arsenal on Saturday and this promises to be a thrilling tie for both sides.
With Arsenal facing their own struggles to compete for the top four spots, they will have an even harder time stopping a fully charged Palace lineup who have won two of their last 3 games and registered an impressive draw against Manchester City.
Roy Hodgson’s influence has been significant with a lot of structure both defensively and offensively. Wilfried Zaha’s antics have drawn a lot of interest from top-tier sides like Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur but the London side are reluctant to part ways with him at least for the rest of the season.
The side bowed out of the FA Cup after a 2-1 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion last week but have bounced back to winning ways with a 1-0 display against Burnley last weekend. Nobody expected such an immediate turnaround with the club now flourishing in the 11th spot of the points table.
Their poor start of the season are now an afterthought and it looks like they might just be able to snap up a spot in the top half of the table by the season end. However, a win at Emirates will be hard to come by and Hodgson is expected to field his best team for this fixture in the 4-3-3 formation.
Defence
Wayne Hennessey might get the nod ahead of Julian Speroni for this fixture having appeared in the last three league matches. Hodgson is currently looking for a shot-stopper to take over the responsibilities ahead of the duo.
Martin Kelly and James Tomkins are expected to pair up centrally in the back four. Scott Dann has been ruled out with an uncertain return date.
Jeffrey Schlupp has also picked up a long-term injury and should get replaced by Patrick van Aanholt in the left back position. The Dutchman was impressive against Burnley in the last fixture and provided a lot of threat offensively. Timothy Fosu-Mensah has been impressive in recent weeks and should start from the right.
Midfield
Luka Milivojevic and James McArthur might appear in the holding midfield role. The duo will have heavy defensive responsibilities against the likes of Jack Wilshere and Granit Xhaka.
Yohan Cabaye is expected to start in the attacking midfield role behind the lone striker.
Attack
Even with his one goal tally for the season, Christian Benteke is the best threat in the number nine role and should get the nod for this fixture.
He might get flanked by Wilfried Zaha on the right with Bakary Sako on the left. Sako’s superb strike against Sean Dyche’s team will earn him a second consecutive start.
