It’s been a roller coaster of a few weeks for the Crystal Palace fans, with their club fighting against relegation. After the appointment of Sam Allardyce though, the Eagles have looked simply outstanding. And if their Monday night humbling of Arsenal is anything to go by, Big Sam has done what he knows best, lift a team with dwindling hopes and restore their confidence.
The South London club face a Leicester City side fresh off two consecutive defeats at the hands of Everton and then Athletic Madrid on Sunday afternoon and Wednesday night respectively. Leicester, on the other hand, will be looking to get back to winning ways and a visit to the high flying Eagles is a great way to prepare for the visit of Atletico in midweek for the second leg. Sam Allardyce’s men have won 4 out of their last 5 Premier League games since the 1-0 loss away to Stoke City.
Those victories include a 2-1 away win at Chelsea, 1-0 win against Watford and a 2-0 score line at the Hawthorns with star man Wilfried Zaha in scintillating form. Big Sam has kept it fairly simple at the back, with a 4-man backline consisting of Liverpool loanee Mamadou Sakho proving to be something of a revelation since joining in January.
Here is the predicted starting 11 to face the Foxes at Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon.
Wayne Hennessey has kept three clean sheets in the last five game-weeks and has made a string of other-worldly saves, most notably at Stamford Bridge. He will line-up as the last line of defence for Saturday’s encounter.
In defence, Mamadou Sakho will partner Joel Ward at the heart of defence and will expect a busy afternoon with Leicester hit-man Jamie Vardy in fine fettle lately. The right full-back position will be taken up by former Liverpool boy Martin Kelly while January signing Jeffrey Schlupp will be eager to show the club who sold him what they are missing out on. Indeed, Schlupp vs Mahrez will be intriguing to watch.
In the holding midfield roles, Yohan Cabaye and Luka Milivojevic look to continue their good form, with both of them finding the back of the net against Arsenal last Monday. Cabaye being the more creative of the two will look to spread out passes to Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend who will slot into their usual positions on the wing. Jason Puncheon finds his place in the hole behind the striker to form a 3 man attacking trio.
Christian Benteke will hope to resume his goalscoring duties as the lone forward. The Belgian had scored in consecutive game weeks against both Chelsea and Southampton before the blank on Monday night. Leicester will have one eye on the return leg of the Champions league and are expected to field an inexperienced back line and Benteke will be on hand to punish any errors by the defenders.
