Palace v Wolves

Selhurst Park, Saturday 3.00pm

Dougie set to return to the side

Team news

Having not scored a goal in the last three league outings Palace fans will be hoping that the Palace attack will be on top form on Saturday. Andy Johnson, Dele Adebola and Dougie Freedman should lead the front line, however with Palace’s current leading goalscorers being defenders Tony Popovic and Darren Powell, make sure you don’t go look away when there’s a corner.

Francis will once again be without injured first team players such as Matt Clarke, Tony Popovic, Julian Gray, Kit Symons, Jamie Smith and Ade Akinbiyi, however on the bright side midfielders Shaun Derry and Aki Riihilahti are expected to be back in time for Saturday’s game.

This will mean that Alex Kolinko will start in goal and youngster Wayne Routledge could also be in the starting line up following is his impressive performance in the Worthington Cup. Another reserve looking for a starting position is Tommy Black however whether Francis is likely to play him from the first minute is doubtful.

As for Wolves, as the chant goes, “Wolves are in the first division, everybody knows they won’t go up,” and once again this season Dave Jones’ men are in the nationwide following their failure in last seasons’ play offs.

However Wolves have started the season well with 11 points from six games leaving them fifth in the table, and with a Worthington Cup win also under their belts, they will be looking to pick up valuable points at Selhurst.

Paul Ince and Michael Oakes are recovering from injuries however the pair are both likely to make the starting line up on Saturday. One certain absentee is Irish winger Mark Kennedy who has been out since last season with a groin injury.

Wolves - league stats

Full league table

Wolves - current form

Full form table

Our home record v Wolves

Last five results

Date	Type	Home Team	Score	Away Team
07/02/2002	League	Crystal Palace	0 - 2	Wolves
20/10/2001	League	Wolves	0 - 1	Crystal Palace
28/04/2001	League	Crystal Palace	0 - 2	Wolves
11/11/2000	League	Wolves	1 - 3	Crystal Palace
05/02/2000	League	Wolves	2 - 1	Crystal Palace

All time results

One to watch

Nathan Blake

Though new arrival Paul Ince and the ever-mauling Alex Rae are most people's choices as men to watch, Nathan Blake has proved his solid record in front of goal once again, weighing in with three goals already this term, two in the league. Not the most skillful striker in the league, he manages to always be in the right place, and with the likes of Cameron, Kennedy and Ingimarsson backing him up in midfield, he will always have plenty of chances to score, certainly a threat on Saturday.

Probable line-up

Johnson Freedman
Granville	Derry	Riihilahti	Butterfield	Fleming
Mullins Austin Powell
Kolinko

Last meeting

Palace 0-2 Wolves

Thursday February 07 2002

Palace: Kolinko, Fleming, Mullins, Murphy, Granville, Hopkin (Gray 73), Riihilahti, Rodger, Freedman, Akinbiyi, Morrison.

Subs not used: Austin, Berhalter, Carasso, Kirovski.

Booking: Riihilahti.

Wolves: Oakes, Muscat, Butler, Lescott, Camara, Newton (Miller 89), Rae, Cameron (Andrews 46), Kennedy, Sturridge, Blake (Ndah 87).

Subs not used: Pollet, Murray.

Goals: Sturridge 13, Newton 65.

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