Crystal Palace vs Southampton
Date: 16/09/2017
K.O: 12:30pm
TV: Sky Sports Main Event
All eyes will be on Crystal Palace in the early kick-off fixture on Saturday, as new manager Roy Hodgson takes charge of his first game as the new Eagles manager.
Leading up to the clash at Selhurst Park, the main talking point is the sacking of Crystal Palace manager Frank de Boer after just 77 days and five games as the Eagles manager. As a result, Palace have signed former England head coach Roy Hodgson in a bid to turn their season around, though they are yet to win any Premier League points or even score a single goal in this Premier League campaign. Roy Hodgson is known for his repetition in training and focuses hard on set pieces and drills: he will be sure to work this Palace squad hard.
Southampton will be looking to increase their points haul for the season which sees them currently sit on five points and in 13th place in the table. Palace are looking to gain their third straight victory against Southampton at home in all competitions.
Crystal Palace:
Crystal Palace will welcome back the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and James Tomkins after both recovering from some minor injuries, but could be without Mamadou Sakho. It is vital for this Palace team to start scoring goals if they want to see themselves work up from the bottom of the table.
If new manager Roy Hodgson can get key striker Christian Benteke firing it would benefit this Palace side, who undoubtedly could use a confidence boost. Benteke has scored in all five of his past five Premier League appearances against Southampton. Failing to score would see Palace become the first Premier League side to play their opening five PL games without scoring a goal.
Southampton:
Southampton on the other hand will be looking to do something similar despite not being in such desperate position. The Saints only managed a shot on target in the 92nd minute last weekend, a shocking statistic for any Premier League side. Southampton will be targeting this game as their next fixture sees them take on strong league contenders Manchester United. Saints could be boosted by the addition of Virgil Van Dijk into their match day squad however this is yet to be confirmed.
Southampton need to bounce back from their 2-0 loss to Watford last weekend and gain some momentum having failed to win any of their last three games.
Prediction: Crystal Palace 1-1 Southampton
Written by Cameron Harrison.
