Southampton will go in search of just their second Premier League victory of the 2024-25 campaign when they head to Selhurst Park on Sunday afternoon to tackle Crystal Palace.
The visitors, who are rock bottom of the Premier League table, will enter the clash off the back of a 1-0 home defeat to West Ham United, while 16th-placed Palace drew 0-0 at Bournemouth on Boxing Day.
Match preview
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Palace entered their Boxing Day clash with Bournemouth off the back of successive defeats to Arsenal in the EFL Cup and Premier League respectively, but they bounced back in impressive fashion, putting in a strong performance to claim a point in a goalless draw.
Oliver Glasner's side now have three straight home matches, two of them in the Premier League against Southampton and Chelsea, before beginning their FA Cup campaign for the 2024-25 campaign at home to Stockport County on January 12.
There is no getting away from the fact that it has been a difficult season to date for Palace, with the team sitting 16th in the table, only three points above the relegation zone, while they have won just three league matches this term.
Palace's home form this season is the third-worst in the division, picking up just seven points from nine matches, while they have only found the back of the net seven times at Selhurst Park in the Premier League this term.
The Eagles have won three of their last four matches against Southampton in all competitions, although the last game between the two sides at Selhurst Park, which came in the FA Cup in January 2023, ended in a 2-1 victory for the Saints.
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Ivan Juric's spell as Southampton head coach officially started on Thursday, and the Saints will feel that they were worth at least a point against West Ham, but Jarrod Bowen's 59th-minute effort secured the victory for the Hammers.
Southampton are rooted to the bottom of the table, winning just one of their 18 Premier League matches this season, with that success coming at home to Everton at the start of November.
The Saints have just six points to show from their 18 matches, which has left them nine points behind 17th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Juric has a huge task on his hands when it comes to keeping the team in the division.
Southampton have the worst attacking record in the division this term, scoring just 11 times, and the fact that no player has scored more than two Premier League goals for them this term is an indication of their struggles.
The Saints have back-to-back home fixtures against Brentford and Swansea City to come after this one in the league and FA Cup respectively, and Juric needs a result to potentially act as a springboard for the coming weeks.
Team News
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Palace remain without the services of Matheus Franca, Adam Wharton and Franco Umeh-Chibueze, while Will Hughes is a doubt due to the issue which forced him off in the early stages of the second period against Bournemouth.
Glasner will have been delighted with his side's performance at the Vitality Stadium, and despite the relatively quick turnaround, the bulk of the players are set to keep their spot in the XI for this clash.
Depending on his fitness, Hughes could drop out for Cheick Doucoure, while Ismaila Sarr, Eberechi Eze and Jean-Philippe Mateta are set to continue in the final third of the field for the hosts, but Marc Guehi is suspended due to his yellow card against Bournemouth, which could open the door for Chris Richards to start.
As for Southampton, Gavin Bazunu, Ross Stewart, Jack Stephens and Will Smallbone will miss the contest through injury.
There were certainly positives to take from the clash against West Ham, with a 3-4-3 set-up again set to be deployed, but there could be a change in the final third, with Tyler Dibling potentially being introduced.
Dibling has seemingly put himself on the radar of a number of Premier League clubs due to his performances this season, and there should be a spot in the front three for the Englishman on Sunday afternoon.
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Henderson; Chalobah, Lacroix, Richards; Munoz, Doucoure, Lerma, Mitchell; Sarr, Mateta, Eze
Southampton possible starting lineup:
Ramsdale; Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Wood-Gordon; Sugawara, Downes, Ugochukwu, Walker-Peters; Dibling, Fernandes, Onuachu
We say: Crystal Palace 2-1 Southampton
Southampton are capable of making this a tricky match for Palace, and we are backing the Saints to give their fans a goal to cheer against a Palace outfit that have struggled at home this season.
That said, the Eagles have so much quality in the final third of the field, and off the back of a positive result at Bournemouth, we are backing the home side to navigate their way to all three points in this contest.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
