First, they face Leicester City. With the Foxes in third place and battling for their Champions League spot, Brendan Rodgers’ high-flying side may seem like the most challenging of opponents for Roy Hodgson’s Eagles.
But the Leicester game is more crucial than first glance would suggest, with the Midlands club playing notably out of form.
So, taking recent results into account, the clash could prove key in Palace collecting points from the challenging weeks ahead.
Though the Eagles have lost back to back games, their recent history with Leicester will inspire confidence, particularly at the King Power stadium, where they have won consecutive matches and are the only London club to win in seven fixtures.
In the two sides’ last five matches, Palace have won four times and lost once, with an aggregate score of 13-3.
Furthermore, the Foxes’ restart has contrasted their near title-chasing form earlier in the season, with Leicester drawing two and losing two of their four games since returning (including the FA Cup).
Signs of Leicester’s dip were evident even before the suspension, though, with Rodgers’ charges losing five of 12 games in all competitions - drawing three and winning four.
Did you know?
Since collecting maximum points across eight Premier League games between October 19th and December 8th, Leicester have won just 17 points from their last 16 Premier League games (W4 D5 L7).
Tactical overview
Naturally, Wilfried Zaha is Palace’s key threat against most teams, but Leicester City are perhaps his favourite adversaries. In his English league career, Zaha has been involved in more goals against Leicester than he has against any other side (nine – five goals and four assists).
Both Leicester and Palace have sturdy defences, however (31 and 37 league goals conceded respectively), and so this clash could be a low scoring affair.
As with the Eagles, the Foxes’ talisman, Jamie Vardy, is the unsurprising threat - netting earlier in the season at Selhurst and bagging 19 league goals so far (the joint most in the league).
However, Vardy, reflecting his team’s loss of form, is misfiring lately, scoring just twice in his last 11 league appearances. Against Everton on Wednesday, the 33-year-old failed to attempt a single shot.
Team news
Palace were boosted by Vicente Guaita and Wilfried Zaha’s return v Burnley, with the pair unavailable against Liverpool. They have had further positive news in that Christian Benteke is fit and available for selection.
Jeffrey Schlupp, Martin Kelly and James Tomkins are long-term absentees, though Hodgson said Kelly is "making great strides."
Leicester are without Ricardo Pereira and Daniel Amartey (who hasn’t played a minute this season) but appear to have no other reported concerns.
How to follow
On TV
This game will be shown live via Sky Sports and Pick, which is free to view. Kick-off is 15:00 BST.
Palace Audio
Palace supporters all over the world can listen to live audio commentary of every Palace fixture in the 2019/20 season for as little as £1 per game on the official club app, mobile internet or on desktop.
Fans can buy a Monthly Pass (which auto-renews) at £4.49 per month or a 24-Hour Pass (for a single matchday) for £1.49, by clicking here.
Find out more about Palace Audio here!
Social media
You can check out our Instagram story for all of the pre-match build-up and our official Twitter page is bringing you up-to-the-minute match updates, stunning photos and more.
Our club website, cpfc.co.uk, is the place to go for team news on the dot, an instant report and all the post-match votes.
The official app
The official Palace app’s match centre is the place to be for everything you need during the Leicester clash. With live stats and alerts, a running match commentary feed and lineups the moment they’re released as well as all an instant match report and post-match reaction from Palace TV, there’s no need to leave the app to follow the Eagles’ efforts.
Download our app for free here!
International fans
For fans following from abroad, have a look at our Worldwide TV Listings here.
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