Palace v Stoke City

Selhurst Park, Saturday 3.00pm

Story so far

Crystal Palace fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Tottenham last weekend, with Tony Pulis’ side left to rue a number of missed opportunities. Most notable among these was Jason Puncheon’s missed penalty but his manager was quoted after the game saying that he was pleased with the team’s reaction after the miss. They will need all that character when they visit Pulis’ old side at the Britannia this weekend.

Captain fantastic Mile Jedinak has been the standout performer for Palace in what has been a difficult season to date for the Eagles. Jedinak passed a personal barrier last time out, becoming only the fifth player in the league this season to pass 100 or more attempted tackles. The Australian currently sits on exactly 100, winning 75% of them according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.

Jason Puncheon may suffer some ribbing in the dressing room for his penalty miss but he remains statistically the most likely Palace player to work the opposition ‘keeper. His 27 attempts on goal is the highest in the Eagles squad. Puncheon is 4/1 to score at any time this weekend with 888sport.com.

Damien Delaney continues to be Palace’s most effective defender this term, the Irish centre half setting the tone for the rest of the back four. Tony Pulis knows a good central defender when he sees one as well and no doubt he’s been bolstering Delaney’s confidence even further. He leads the Palace squad for total defensive contributions (blocks, interceptions, tackles won, clearances) with 269.

Having the confidence to take on the opposition when you are collectively enduring a turbulent time is never easy, but Joel Ward has maintained his willingness to have a go this term. He places second in the Palace squad for dribbles with 21.

A thrilling encounter last weekend saw Stoke eventually succumb to a 3-5 loss at the hands of Liverpool. Despite goals from Peter Crouch, Charlie Adam and Jonathan Walters, the home side were unable to stem the flow of goals from the Reds but Potters fans will have taken heart from an impressive attacking performance of their own as they head into this weekend.

Erik Pieters remains one of the most effective defenders in the league this season. The Dutchman has won more tackles than any other defender with 70 to his name, placing him fourth overall on the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.

His defensive colleague Ryan Shawcross remains the most physically committed player in the Stoke squad this term, repeatedly throwing himself in front of the opposition’s attempts on goal. He ranks second in the league for blocks with 29.

Young though he may be, Jack Butland appears more than ready to make the step up to a consistent starting place in the Stoke XI. Displacing Asmir Begovic will be no mean feat though but if his performance last weekend is anything to go by he’s up capable of making a serious challenge. He made the second highest number of saves in the last round with 5.

Marko Arnautovic continues to showcase the talents which brought him to the attention of Stoke last summer. The Austrian has a great combination of strength and technical ability and he showcased this again against Liverpool, completing the second highest number of attacking contributions (crosses, dribbles, shots on goal, assists) of any player in the league with 8. Arnautovic is 7/2 to score at any time this weekend with 888sport.com.

Team news

Crystal Palace's on-loan striker Cameron Jerome is ineligible to play against parent club Stoke.

Midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi (calf) and winger Jerome Thomas (groin) are out and Yannick Bolasie (groin) will have a late fitness test. Glenn Murray (knee) is three to four weeks away, while Jack Hunt (ankle) and Paddy McCarthy (groin) are still sidelined.

Stoke forward Kenwyne Jones has been dropped by boss Mark Hughes for refusing to play against Liverpool last week. John Guidetti, who joined on loan from Manchester City, will come into the squad.

On-loan winger Oussama Assaidi returns after sitting out the game against the Reds. Asmir Begovic, Robert Huth, Andy Wilkinson and Matthew Etherington are all injured.

Quotes

Roy Hodgson

"It is always about the three points. Those memories will stay with me, the area and the people I met, not just around the football club.

"Ourselves and Sunderland were cut off at one stage. Sunderland have come back and we have come back at it. What we have to do is make sure you push on from there and that is the important thing.

"We are looking at all areas and we need to strengthen in all areas. We have got injuries we need to deal with, but I think we need to get players in to help us. We haven't done it yet but we certainly need to."

Paddy McCarthy

"I have come through two games now with no problems, so I'm just building up my match fitness.

"I have trained for a few weeks now with no problem, I feel physically fit and it is all about building the game-time now and hopefully I will be in contention soon.

"It has been a tough 18 months for me but I have worked my socks off and come in day in, day out. And hopefully I will reap the rewards for my hard work and not pick up any more injuries.

"We have left no stone unturned. We have been to Germany and Italy to see the best people for my specific injury, so I'm hoping I'm over the worst of it now.

"I think it took a few months for people to understand what had happened, it took quite a while to get on top of it. I've done all the groundwork and now I'm starting to feel better in the games I'm taking part in, and as the weeks go by I will pick up more minutes."

Mark Hughes

"We have probably got a unique insight into how Tony sets up his teams. You would say that, given the personnel that are still here, they will have a better understanding than most opposition what Tony will go up against with his new team.

"That could be an advantage, but obviously he'll have an insight into what we are doing.

"We are trying to change somewhat, but certainly he'll know the individuals involved and their strengths and weaknesses, so it is an interesting battle of wills.

"The group of players here are a credit to the work that had been done before - the quality of the players in terms of their attitude to work and their application on a daily basis is first class.

"That comes from having good standards within the club, and that happens over a period of time.

"So certainly that influence from Tony Pulis is very evident in the group I work with."

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Stoke City - league stats

Position	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points
12th	21	5	7	9	22

Full league table

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Last five results

Date	Type	Home Team	Score	Away Team
24/08/2013	League	Stoke City	2 - 1	Crystal Palace
15/01/2013	FA Cup	Stoke City	4 - 1	Crystal Palace
05/01/2013	FA Cup	Crystal Palace	0 - 0	Stoke City
07/04/2008	League	Stoke City	1 - 2	Crystal Palace
23/10/2007	League	Crystal Palace	1 - 3	Stoke City

All time results

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Last meeting

Stoke City 2-1 Palace

Saturday August 24 2013

Stoke City: Begovic, Huth, Shawcross, Pieters, Cameron, Walters, Adam (Whelan, 74), Etherington (Pennant, 70), Wilson, Nzonzi, Crouch (Jerome, 86)

Subs not used: Wilkinson, Sorensen, Muniesa, Jones

Goals: Adam (58), Shawcross (62)

Bookings: Shawcross, Cameron, Walters

Palace: Speroni, Gabbidon, Moxey, Ward, Delaney, Gayle, Puncheon (Phillips, 76), Dikgacoi, Jedinak, Campana (Garvan, 63), Chamakh (Williams, 63)

Subs not used: Ramage, Dobbie, Alexander, Wilbraham

Goals: Chamakh (31)

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