After the exertions of Sunday afternoon it is back to it with another home game in quick succession as the Eagles embark the second of three games in seven days which will test the fitness of the squad.
DATE
15th December 2021
KICK OFF
7.30pm
VENUE
Selhurst Park, Holmesdale Road, London SE25 6PU
LAST TIME
It was September 2020 when the Saints last made the trek up to South London and the returned empty handed thanks to an early goal from Wilfried Zaha but it took a goalkeeping master class from Vicente Guaita to preserve the three points.
WHO SCORED MAN OF THE MATCH – Vicente Guaita (8.2)
OFFICIALS
Referee: Simon Hooper. Assistants: Dan Robathan, Derek Eaton. Fourth official: Robert Jones. VAR: John Brooks. Assistant VAR: Adrian Holmes
TEAM NEWS
PALACE – Both James McArthur (thigh) and Nathan Ferguson (calf) are working their way back to fitness but neither are expected to feature for this fixture. Joachim Andersen (hamstring) is back in contention for a start.
SAINTS – Oriol Romeu and Mohamed Salisu return from suspension. Alex McCarthy (thigh) and Fraser Forster (other) are ruled out while Adam Armstrong (calf), Armando Broja (thigh), Che Adams (thigh) and Stuart Armstrong (calf) are all doubts.
DISCIPLINARY
RED CARDS – James Ward-Prowse (1)
YELLOW CARDS (4+) – Mohammed Salisu (5), Oriol Romeu (5), Joel Ward (5), Conor Gallagher (4)
FORM GUIDE
Last FIVE meetings between the two sides;
- 11/05/21 Saints 3-1 Palace
- 12/09/20 Palace 1-0 Saints
- 21/01/20 Palace 0-2 Saints
- 28/12/19 Saints 1-1 Palace
- 30/01/19 Saints 1-1 Palace
Last FIVE results for Palace:
- 12/12/21 Palace 3-1 Everton
- 05/12/21 United 1-0 Palace
- 30/12/21 Leeds 1-0 Palace
- 27/11/21 Palace 1-2 Villa
- 20/11/21 Burnley 3-3 Palace
Last FIVE results for Saints;
- 11/12/21 Arsenal 3-0 Saints
- 04/12/21 Saints 1-1 Leicester
- 01/12/21 Saints 2-2 Brighton
- 27/11/21 Liverpool 4-0 Saints
- 20/11/21 Norwich 2-1 Saints
RECORD AGAINST SAINTS
- Played 92
- Won 30
- Drawn 18
- Lost 44
FORM PLAYERS ACCORDING TO WHO SCORED
- Conor Gallagher 7.57
- Mohammed Salisu 7.04
- Christian Benteke 6.97
- Che Adams 6.87
ONE TO WATCH
VALENTINO LIVRAMENTO
FORMER CLUBS – Roundshaw, Chelsea
Another from the Chelsea academy but one who has made a clean break by signing for the Saints in the summer, although the Blues are rumoured to have a £25million buy back clause. The full back has made a good impression in his short time on the South Coast and may well encourage Chelsea to look again at the clause.
KEY CLASH
WILL HUGHES v JAMES WARD-PROWSE
The former Watford player made a significant impact n his first start for the Eagles against Everton on Sunday, and with James McArthur injured is likely to start against the Saints. He will come up against a midfielder of similar stature who will probably be more interested in winding up Wilfried Zaha again.
PRE-MATCH FACTS
- Palace have only won 4 of the 24 league meetings, including in last season’s corresponding fixture
- Southampton had won and kept a clean sheet in their 3 previous league visits to Selhurst Park
- Palace could score in 8 successive league home games for the first time. The club’s top-flight record is 12 matches in 1990
- The Eagles have lost as few as 5 of their opening 16 league matches in a season for the first time since 1991-92
- They are looking to earn back-to-back league wins at Selhurst Park for the first time since March 2020
- Conor Gallagher has 6 goals and 3 assists in the league this season, with his 9 direct goal involvements being the most of any player currently 21 or under
- Gallagher has been directly involved in 41% of Palace’s league goals this season, the highest percentage for a team by any English player this term
- Christian Benteke has scored 6 goals in his past 9 league appearances against Southampton
PRE-MATCH STATS
- GOALS – Gallagher (6 – 9th in PL)
- ASSISTS – Gallagher (3 – 14th in PL)
- PASSES – Guehi (1035 – 5th in PL)
- TACKLES – Mitchell (45 – 2nd in PL)
- TOUCHES – Guehi (1203 – 6th in PL)
- SHOTS – Benteke (35 – 13th in PL)
- SAVES – Guaita (47 – 8th in PL)
DID YOU KNOW?
St. Mary’s Stadium opened in 2001, replacing former home The Dell, and has a capacity of 32,589 making it the biggest stadium in the South of England, outside London.
PREDICTION
Much will depend on how much the win against Everton took out of the players on Sunday but there is a real opportunity for Palace to secure back-to-back wins as they are coming up against a side out of form. Having said that, the visitors will be keen on getting their first win in a number of weeks so the Eagles will have to put in a performance similar to that on Sunday.
FINAL SCORE: 2-1
BETTING ODDS
- Home – 11/10
- Draw – 9/4
- Away – 13/5
- Both teams to score – 4/5
RESOURCES
