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Crystal Palace vs Leicester City: 15/12/2018 – match preview and predicted starting XIs

Crystal Palace vs Leicester City

Date: 15/12/2018

K/O: 15.00

Venue: Selhurst Park

Referee: Michael Oliver

The Foxes travel south to the home of the Eagles with a chance to move up to 7th in the league, whereas Palace could end the weekend in the relegation zone for the first time this season.

Palace have not been in the drop zone since April, but if they fall to a third straight defeat, they could be overtaken by Burnley or Huddersfield if both sides pick up wins in their respective games.

The home side can look to a positive recent record against Leicester, where they are unbeaten in the last three meetings. They have also kept clean sheets in the last two, scoring eight goals in the process. However, the same can be said for Leicester, who won all three of the games previous to those, only conceding the one goal.

The form the two sides are currently in would suggest that there will not be a repeat of the 5-0 Palace win from the end of April. Palace have only won one in the last eleven Premier League games, whereas Leicester were unbeaten in the six games prior to the 2-0 defeat to Tottenham last time out.

There could be notable absentees from both sides with important players like Tomkins and Zaha out of the game for the hosts, and Jamie Vardy is a doubt for the visitors. The former England striker has 2 goals and an assist against the Eagles in his nine meetings with them. Palace still have a horrible record of results when Zaha has not featured, with their last victory in such circumstances coming against Sunderland way back in September 2016, meaning they’re now winless in the last thirteen league games without the key Ivorian.

In the absence of Leicester’s talisman forward, Jamie Vardy, it has been the form of midfielder James Maddison that has helped Leicester climb up the table, grabbing 2 goals in the last three games. For Palace, it has been the combination of Andros Townsend and James McArthur who have been getting the goals recently, contributing to 3 of their last 6 goals.

 

Team News

Crystal Palace

The loss of three points, and a drop closer to the relegation zone, are not the only problems that Palace have as a result of the defeat to West Ham. Two very late bookings will see two of their most important players ruled out of the visit of Leicester City through suspension. After having a frustrating afternoon for Zaha, seeing himself nullified by experienced right-back Zabaleta, he made a poor challenge on the Argentinian and earned himself a yellow card, his fifth one of the season, and thus a one-match ban. To exacerbate the problem further, news broke after the game that James Tomkins had confronted the referee in the tunnel after the game, and got a yellow card in the process. So now Palace will have to go into the weekend’s game without their star forward, and one of their important defensive leaders.

There was one more repercussion from the game at the London Stadium, and that was the injury to first choice left-back Patrick van Aanholt. Taken off mere minutes before the hour mark after a clash in the air left him clutching his shoulder, the Dutchman is now a doubt for the weekend after saying on social media that he would ‘be back soon’. Christian Benteke is also still out after Roy Hodgson said on the 1st December that he was three or four weeks off a return. On a more positive note, long-term absentee Scott Dann could return to the bench, with Martin Kelly expected to take over the captaincy for the suspended Tomkins.



Leicester City

The Foxes’ biggest injury doubt is, of course, the fitness of star striker Jamie Vardy. He has not played since going off in the 2-0 home win over Watford at the start of December. A groin injury has subsequently kept him out of the last two games, with Claude Puel saying that they did not want to risk putting him out against Tottenham, in a bid to get him fit for the Palace game. He will be assessed ahead of the game, with Kelechi Iheanacho ready to continue leading the line in his absence.

Matty James is in the final stages of his recovery and merely lacks match fitness. Whereas long-term absentee Daniel Amartey remains out, with an earliest return date not until at least March after suffering an ankle injury against West Ham.

Predicted Starting XIs

Crystal Palace: Hennessey; Wan-Bissaka, Kelly, Sakho, van Aanholt (Schlupp); McArthur, Kouyate, Milivojevic, Meyer; Townsend, Ayew.

Leicester City: Schmeichel; Pereira, Morgan, Evans, Chilwell; Mendy, Ndidi, Albrighton, Maddison, Gray; Iheanacho.

Score Prediction: Crystal Palace 1 Leicester City 2

Each side have had differing levels of performance so far this season, some weeks excelling, and going missing in the next. It will depend on who gets the upper hand early on, but on current form, it looks like it will be another home defeat for the South London side.

Migtavius

A Crystal Palace fan in my 30's, I co-host a podcast about Fantasy Premier League (FPL) with YouTuber Nymfria.

Can easily contact me on Twitter, where I'm normally posting somethings about some stuff.

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