Defeat in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night came somewhat as a suprise to Palace fans considering recent form against the Saints on away soil, especailly in cup fixtures.
Nevertheless, Alan Pardew will be keen to keep the Eagles’ run of three league games unbeaten going. The injury to Scott Dann is a huge blow considering he is our main goalscorer so far this season (irony intented). However, with James Tomkins fit again the gap will be filled with another quality centre half looking to fight for his place in the stating eleven. On a more positive note, the win against Stoke City was phenomenal and certainly something to remember for Palace fans come the end of the season. Results like that do not come often in the top flight for a team like us. More of the same please Pards!
Sunderland are coming into the game on the back of a cup victory against Queens Park Rangers. The 2-1 result means the Black Cats will face Southampton at home in the next round. David Moyes will be aiming to get his first back to back win under his belt as Sunderland manager and steer them out of the relegation zone, somewhere they have been since the beginning of the new campaign.
TEAM NEWS
CRYSTAL PALACE – Scott Dann (hamstring) is the big miss who is unlikely to return until after the international break. Both Pape Souare (leg) and Loic Remy (thigh) miss out.
SUNDERLAND – Sebastian Larsson (knee), Vito Mannone (elbow), Fabio Borini (groin) and Victor Anichebe (thigh) are all injured while Jermain Defoe (calf) and Wahbi Khazri (illness) are questionable.
ACTION REPLAY
Last time out, Palace endured a two all draw at the Stadium of Light after a late, late equaliser from Fabio Borini. The hosts went in front ten minutes before half time when Sengalese striker Dame N’Doye, on loan from Turkish side Trabzonspor, found the net. Former Black Cat Connor Wickham then grabbed two goals against his former club within the space of ten minutes not long after half time. The result took Sunderland out of the relegation zone and left the bottom three consisting of Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Norwich City which is how it stayed.
FORM GUIDE
Last FIVE meetings between the two sides;
- 01/03/2016 Sunderland 2-2 Crystal Palace
- 23/11/2015 Crystal palace 0-1 Sunderland
- 11/04/2015 Sunderland 1-4 Crystal Palace
- 03/11/2014 Crystal Palace 1-3 Sunderland
- 15/03/2014 Sunderland 0-0 Crystal Palace
Games against Sunderland have been very hard to predict, maybe one of the hardest in the Premier League as we can never quite guess what kind of teams will turn up. However, Sunderland winning against Queens Park Rangers in the EFL cup may hurt Palace as David Moyes will be hoping his team can start stringing together some good performances in order to aviod the drop once again this season. Alan Pardew will undoubtedly be disappointed with the defeat to Southampton in the league cup on Wednesday and with the injury to club captain and first choice centre back, Scott Dann, Eagles fans are well within their rights to be nervous for the upcoming match.
Last FIVE results for Palace;
- 21/09/2016 Southampton 2-0 Crystal Palace
- 18/09/2016 Crystal Palace 4-1 Stoke City
- 10/09/2016 Middlesbrough 1-2 Crystal Palace
- 27/08/2016 Crystal Palace 1-1 Bournemouth
- 23/08/2016 Crystal Palace 2-0 Blackpool
Last FIVE results for Sunderland;
- 21/09/2016 Queens Park Rangers 1-2 Sunderland
- 18/09/2016 Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Sunderland
- 12/09/2016 Sunderland 0-3 Everton
- 27/08/2016 Southampton 1-1 Sunderland
- 24/08/2016 Sunderland 1-0 Shrewsbury
FORM PLAYERS (courtesy of Who Scored)
Top two rated players from each team so far this season;
- Andros Townsend 7.78
- Jason Puncheon 7.69
- Jordan Pickford 7.37
- Papy Djilobodji 7.13
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY
“We are going to go there and do the best possible job that we can, with a team that at the moment looks in good form.” – ALAN PARDEW courtesy of BBC Sport.
“The players have been really resilient, they work really hard but I would like them to be more aggressive.” – DAVID MOYES courtesy of BBC Sport.
ONE TO WATCH
LAMINE KONE
Kone arrived at the at the Stadium of Light from Lorient for an undisclosed fee thought to be around five million. The French defender began his professional career at Châteauroux where he made seventy-four appearances, scoring four goals. In 2010, Kone was signed as a replacement for Laurent Koscielny by Lorient for £1million Euros, the latter making his move to Arsenal. The defender made 126 appearences for the French side scoring seven goals. He also appeared twelve times for Lorient B during his time in Ligue 1. In 2014 Kone made his debut for the Ivory Coast national team and has made five more appearences since. Finally, in January 2016 Kone made a permenent transfer to Sunderland and recently signed a new five year contract.
Lamine Kone is my one to watch on Saturday as the game is going to be very physical. Kone’s strong ariel duels will certainly prevail if Sunderland earn themselves corners as defending set pieces has been a major weakness for Palace so far this season.
PREDICTION
Final league position – 15th
Before David Moyes was appointed as Sunderland boss I tipped the Black Cats for relegation, something they have come very close to in previous seasons. However, the Scotsman’s experience in the Premier League will help the club endlessly and may point them in the right direction. The January transfer window will be very telling for Sunderland as the sigings Moyes made in the summer were not as strong as they could have been.
- TEB prediction – draw
- Roker Report prediction (see link below) – home win
- Who Scored prediction – away win
BETTING ODDS (courtesy of Paddy Power)
- Home – 7/4
- Draw – 11/5
- Away – 17/10
- Both teams to score 8/11
Find our what Rory from Roker Report told TEB this week in The Sunderland View.
