Palace v West Bromwich Albion

Selhurst Park, Saturday 3.00pm

Selhurst Park (Photo: Andy Roberts)

Story so far

With both teams just a point above the relegation zone this is definitely a match that can be classified as a ‘six-pointer’. Arsenal may have ended Palace’s two-game winning streak, but results have undoubtedly improved under manager Tony Pulis, and they host West Brom who are still looking for their first victory under Pepe Mel.

Crystal Palace may have succumbed to a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal, but if it wasn’t for the performance of Damien Delaney, the score line could have been a lot worse. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that he made a total of 15 defensive contributions, the most in the Eagles squad.

Another player who demonstrated his excellent defensive ability against Arsenal was full back Joel Ward. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that he attempted the most challenges in the Palace squad, and won an impressive 75% of them.

Crsytal Palace are the lowest scorers in the Premier League this season, but in Maraoune Chamakh, Tony Pulis has a man who can score the goals to propel them to safety. The Moroccan is Palace’s top scorer with 4 goals, but amazingly, these goals have come from only 7 attempts.

Pulis may have installed new confidence in the squad as a whole, but he should be encouraging the former Arsenal man to be more confident in front of goal and take more shots! You can find Chamakh at 28/11 with 888sport.com to score at any point this weekend.

West Brom will be happy with an unexpected point last weekend after going behind to top 4 hopefuls Liverpool. The spirit shown to get back into the game will be vital in the coming months, as the Baggies battle to avoid the drop.

Zoltan Gera is into his second spell with West Brom, and has come to establish himself as a firm favourite amongst the Baggies faithful. He may be into the twilight of his career, having reached the ripe old age of 34, but he hasn’t lost his excellent knack of playing a key pass. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index demonstrates that he completed an impressive 28 passes in the opposition half on Sunday.

Claudio Yacob has played an important role in a defensive midfield role for West Brom this season. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that Yacob has made more tackles than any other player this season with 126, with a success rate of 71%.

Now that Shane Long has departed the West Midlands club, the other strikers will have to bear the brunt of scoring the goals necessary to keep West Brom up. Berahino will be one man who feels the responsibility, particularly as he has the best strike rate of any West Brom striker – averaging a goal every 231 minutes. Berahino is 17/5 with 888sport.com to score at any point on Saturday.

Team news

Eagles manager Tony Pulis is ready to hand debuts to deadline day signings Joe Ledley, Tom Ince and Scott Dann. Goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey is likely to remain as cover for Julian Speroni.

Striker Glenn Murray could make a long-awaited appearance on the bench after his recovery from his knee injury.

New West Brom signing Thievy Bifouma is available for selection after joining on loan from Spanish side Espanyol. Midfielder James Morrison has shaken off a calf injury, but defender Jonas Olsson (hamstring) and strikers Nicolas Anelka (knee) and Stephane Sessegnon (groin) all missing.

Palace: Speroni, Hennessey, Gabbidon, Moxey, Mariappa, Delaney, Dann, McCarthy, Ward, Parr, Jedinak, Dikgacoi, Ledley, O'Keefe, Bannan, Williams, Bolasie, Ince, Puncheon, Gayle, Jerome, Chamakh, Wilbraham.

West Brom: Foster, Myhill, Reid, Popov, Ridgewell, Lugano, McAuley, Dawson, Jones, Yacob, Morrison, Sinclair, Brunt, Dorrans, Amalfitano, Mulumbu, Gera, Anichebe, Vydra, Berahino, Bifouma.

Quotes

Roy Hodgson

"We haven't signed 16 players [in this window] that is for sure. It came together okay. What we tried to do and what we tried to achieve we ended up getting there so that is pleasing.

"The lads have found it easy to integrate with them. You have to try and get your best team on the pitch, it is about finding out how fit the new lads are and whether you take a little bit of a chance.

"The big thing with signing new players is, I think they are all good, but how quickly do they settle in? It takes time and some people take longer to settle in so it is always a gamble.

"We need to score more goals full stop. But we also need to share the goals more around the team, we are a little bit disappointed that we haven't scored as many goals from set-pieces as well because we have some big lads in the team.

"We have got to contribute all over the pitch, irrespective of who scores, the main thing is that we have the firepower to score from all over the pitch.

"The important thing is to keep focused, West Brom have got some good players and they have got a lot of experience in the Premier League and it will be a tough game for us.

"Whether you are on the same number of points, above them or below them, the big thing is that you stay focused on what you try and do to get the three points."

Pepe Mel

"Palace know how to play this type of football. It's automatic for them, and for me they play it very, very well. When all the players know how to play that way then it's good, and I've seen them play at home and they've done well.

"Their head coach (Tony Pulis) is a good coach in convincing his players to play that way. The most important thing is my players have a good mentality, they keep the ball, move quickly in attack and are compact in defending.

"I know it's important to win matches because West Brom need to stay in the Premier League. It's about precision. I need to change things, and the last match (a 1-1 draw with Liverpool) was better.

"We played well in the second half against Everton, in the first 25 to 30 minutes at Villa, again for 15 to 20 minutes against Liverpool in the first half and throughout the second half.

"But I know we need 90-minute performances, and I hope we get them soon because we need to take three points. In March, April, we need to be calm, to know we are in the Premier League for next season."

West Bromwich Albion - league stats

Full league table

Last five results

Date	Type	Home Team	Score	Away Team
04/01/2014	FA Cup	West Bromwich Albion	0 - 2	Crystal Palace
02/11/2013	League	West Bromwich Albion	2 - 0	Crystal Palace
26/04/2010	League	Crystal Palace	1 - 1	West Bromwich Albion
26/09/2009	League	West Bromwich Albion	0 - 1	Crystal Palace
12/03/2008	League	West Bromwich Albion	1 - 1	Crystal Palace

All time results

Last meeting

West Bromwich Albion 0-2 Palace

Saturday January 04 2014

West Bromwich Albion: Foster, McAuley, Lugano, Popov, Dawson (Amalfitano, 61), Morrison, Gera, Yacob (Sessegnon, 82), Long, Vydra (S Sinclair, 69), Berahino

Subs not used: Myhill, Thorne, Brunt, Ridgewell

Bookings: Lugano, Dawson, Gera, Amalfitano

Palace: Speroni, Gabbidon, Mariappa, Parr, Delaney, Williams (Chamakh, 78), Dikgacoi, Bolasie, Bannan (Puncheon, 79), Gayle, Boateng (O'Keefe, 68)

Subs not used: Dobbie, Price, McCarthy, Moxey

Goals: Dwight Gayle (23), Chamakh (90)

Bookings: Mariappa, Boateng, Parr

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