Palace v Southampton

Selhurst Park, Saturday 3.00pm

Story so far

Data supplied by the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Select and manage your own team of stars at fantasy.premierleague.com or with FIFA Ultimate Team for FIFA 14.

Data supplied by the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Select and manage your own team of stars at http://fantasy.premierleague.com/ or with FIFA Ultimate Team for FIFA 14

A penalty from Glenn Murray in the last 10 minutes ensured that the Eagles left the Liberty Stadium with a point on Sunday, and they host Southampton who will be looking to improve on their loss to Liverpool in the last round of Premier League fixtures.

Glenn Murray’s has earned high praise from manager Tony Pulis in the last fortnight, with the Eagles manager claiming that he has the quality to keepPalace in the division.

Murray scored an outstanding total of 31 goals lastseason to help Palace secure promotion and he has shown his excellent eye for goal in the short time that he has been back for injury, as he has managed to hit the target with every shot that he has attempted. 888sport.com have Murray t 5/1 to score the first goal on Saturday.

Joe Ledley is a new arrival at Selhurst Park with the former Cardiff and Celtic man arriving in the January transfer window. He hasn’t taken long to bed into the Palace team though, slotting into midfield with consummate ease.

He operated in both midfield and defence on Sunday and performed admirably, protecting his back four to great effect. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that he won more tackles than any other Palace player (8), with a tackle success rate of 89%.

Wayne Hennesey was another new arrival at Selhurst Park in the January transfer window, with the Welsh international arriving from Wolves. Although still ayoung man, Hennesey will be looking to establish himself in the Palace lineup as quickly as possible, but with the form that Speroni has shown this season, the Welshman may be on the bench for some time yet.

The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that Speroni made 5 saves on Sunday, the second most in the league, taking his overall tally to 80 – the seventh most in the league.

Yannick Bolassie is a player who’s impressed on the flanks for Palace this term, with his excellent dribbling ability a key element in the Eagles offensive armoury. He showcased this talent of his on Sunday, completing 5 dribbles – the most in the league.

Southampton succumbed to a 3-0 loss at home to Liverpool in the last round of Premier League fixtures, a slightly unfair result considering Southampton boasted more possession and had more attempts at goal. Led by Captain Fantastic Adam Lallana, the Saints will be looking to get their campaign back on track this weekend.

Lallana has been something of a revelation in the Premier League this season, and it will be pleasing for Saints fans that he has replicated that form on the international stage. His creativity could be a key asset for Roy Hodgson come this Summer, as he has an excellent ability to play passes that others can’t. This superb skill of his was on show at the weekend as he completed a total of 36 passes in the opposition half, the most in the Saints squad.

In the form of Callum Chambers, Southampton’s famed Youth Academy appear to have produced another gem of a young player. At the tender age of 19, Chambers has featured in 17 matches for Southampton this term, operating at either right back or on the right wing – and he certainly hasn’t let anyone down in this time. Defensively, he has excelled, making an impressive total of 139 defensive contributions (based on blocks, clearances, interceptions and tackles won).

Gaston Ramirez has struggled at times in his time at Southampton, with the weight of his transfer fee perhaps hanging over him. The Uruguayan was introduced by Pochettino at half time on Saturday, and in the 45 minutes that he was on the field, he showcased his excellent offensive ability.

The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that he completed 3 dribbles, the most in the Southampton squad, and also completed a pass in the opposition half at an impressive rate of a pass every 2.6 minutes. Ramirez is 7/1 with 888sport.com to score at any point on Saturday.

With all the hype surrounding Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez, another young Englishman who has gone a bit under the radar is midfielder James Ward-Prowse. Another product of the Youth Academy, the youngster has been practically ever-present for Southampton this term, featuring in 25 of the Saints fixtures so far and within this time, he has managed a swing in an incredible number of crosses. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that Ward-Prowse has crossed the ball 22 times – the fifth most in the league.

Team news

Crystal Palace striker Marouane Chamakh will have his hamstring checked on after coming off injured at Swansea at the weekend.

Joe Ledley (hip), Damien Delaney (calf) and Kagisho Dikgacoi (back) will also be assessed after missing games for their respective countries in midweek.

Southampton's Gaston Ramirez may be recalled to the line-up after making his return from injury as a sub last time out.

Palace: (from) Speroni, Hennessey, Ward, Gabbidon, Delaney, Dann, Mariappa, Moxey, Parr, Jedinak, Dikgacoi, Bannan, Ledley, Bolasie, Ince, Puncheon, Murray, Gayle, Chamakh, Jerome.

Southampton: (from): Boruc, K Davis, Chambers, Clyne, Shaw, Targett, Fonte, Lovren, Hooiveld, Yoshida, Reed, Schneiderlin, Cork, Wanyama, Ward-Prowse, Lallana, Isgrove, Ramirez, Rodriguez, S Davis, Gallagher, Lambert.

Quotes

Roy Hodgson

"We know how tough this run is for us. We have got it as tough as anybody in the bottom 10 but we will get our heads down and work as hard as we can.

"There are 10 or 11 teams still fighting for their lives and we are ahead of the game in a lot of respects because we are still in with a chance and nobody gave us that chance a short time ago.

"It is very difficult to stop the players looking at things. You can get so confused and uptight and lose a lot of energy worrying about things you can't affect.

"I think the manager has done a fantastic job there, I’ve watched them a few times. They have got an identity to their team and they play in a certain way. It’s a little bit different to most teams in the Premier League.

"Their rotation with the front three and the way they use their full-backs is excellent. As a coach or a manager, you enjoy watching certain teams because you can actually see what they’re trying to achieve and trying to do.

"They make it very difficult for the opposition. But we’re at our place and we want to be positive and we want to make sure we do what we think we’re good at. Hopefully that will be a good enough to give Southampton a good game because they are a good team."

Mauricio Pochettino

"Crystal Palace will be a very tough opponent. They have a clear style of playing under Tony Pulis. I have great respect for Tony Pulis. He's done very well at Crystal Palace and I have great admiration for the job he's done there.

"They have a different manager to when we last played them, so they'll be playing with a different style. We're a team that always plays in the same manner. All games in the Premier League are very important and intense."

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Southampton - league stats

Position	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points
9th	28	10	9	9	39

Full league table

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Southampton - current form

Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against
8	3	3	2	12	12

Full form table

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Last five results

Date	Type	Home Team	Score	Away Team
28/09/2013	League	Southampton	2 - 0	Crystal Palace
09/04/2012	League	Crystal Palace	0 - 2	Southampton
26/12/2011	League	Southampton	2 - 0	Crystal Palace
25/10/2011	League Cup	Crystal Palace	2 - 0	Southampton
13/04/2009	League	Southampton	1 - 0	Crystal Palace

All time results

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Last meeting

Southampton 2-0 Palace

Saturday September 28 2013

Southampton: Boruc, Clyne, Lovren, Fonte, Shaw, Schneiderlin, Davis (Ward-Prowse, 67), Wanyama, Osvaldo, Lallana (Ramírez, 86), Lambert (Rodriguez, 77)

Subs not used: Hooiveld, Cork, Davis, Chambers

Goals: Osvaldo (47), Lambert (49)

Bookings: Davis

Palace: Speroni, Ward, Mariappa, Gabbidon, Moxey, Dikgacoi, Jedinak, Bannan (Jerome, 57), Gayle (Thomas, 58), Kebe (Phillips, 73), Chamakh

Subs not used: Parr, O'Keefe, Campana, Price

Bookings: Chamakh, Mariappa

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