Crystal Palace vs Southampton will be a real clash of styles at Selhurst Park on Wednesday (watch live, 2:30pm ET on Peacock Premium) as the Eagles and Saints do battle.
STREAM LIVE CRYSTAL PALACE v SOUTHAMPTON
Palace sit three points above Southampton following their impressive win against Everton at the weekend, as Conor Gallagher is running the show in midfield and scored twice, including a Goal of the Month contender late on. Patrick Vieira has done a fine job in his first few months in charge of Palace and the Frenchman is rotating his forward line well and Palace are much more than a counter-attacking team these days. Defensive injuries have hit them a little hard in recent weeks and Palace probably haven’t got the points on the board they deserve given their performances so far this campaign. They will see this game as a must-win at home to set themselves up for a nice run of festive fixtures.
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As for Southampton, well, they have struggled in recent weeks as Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side have started to leak goals defensively again. Their familiar midseason deluge of injuries has arrived too and they were beaten 3-0 away at Arsenal last time and have gone five games without a win in the Premier League. They sit five points above the relegation zone heading into the midweek slate of games and badly need at least four points from this trip to Palace and their home game against Brentford at the weekend to ease some of the pressure. Like Palace, their performances haven’t yielded the points they deserve and ahead of a tough run of games they need to get a few points on the board over the next few days. Otherwise, you fear for the Saints.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Crystal Palace vs Southampton.
The Premier League “Festive Fixtures” take place from Saturday, Dec. 18 until Monday, Jan. 3, and you can watch all 40 matches in 17 days across our platforms right here.
Crystal Palace team news, injuries, lineup options
Joachim Andersen continues to work his way back from a thigh injury but is a doubt for this game, while James McArthur is also coming back from a thigh problem and could be available at the weekend, but he will miss this game. Nathan Ferguson is also stepping up his recovery from a calf problem and could return in the next few weeks. Other than that, Patrick Vieira has a healthy squad and so many options in attack to change things around. Could Christian Benteke come in to start this game? What about Eberechi Eze?
COME ON YOU PALACE#CPFC | #CRYSOU
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) December 15, 2021
Southampton team news, injuries, lineup options
Injuries are piling up for Southampton midseason, once again, as Ralph Hasenhuttl is without his two first-choice goalkeepers. Willy Caballero, 40, came in on a short-term deal and lost 3-0 at Arsenal on his debut as Alex McCarthy is out for several weeks with a hamstring problem and Fraser Forster is almost back fit. Che Adams is missing with a hamstring knock, while both Adam Armstrong and Armando Broja could miss this game too. So, that is Saints without their three first-choice forwards. Stuart Armstrong is still out with a calf problem but Oriol Romeu and Mohammed Salisu do return from suspension. The likes of Theo Walcott, Nathan Tella, Shane Long and Nathan Redmond will have a key role to play in attack.
🇧🇷 @Lyanco at the back
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) December 15, 2021
🇮🇪 @WSmallbone in midfield
🇦🇱 @armandobroja9 up top
How #SaintsFC will line-up against #CPFC: pic.twitter.com/eV4l0lKSt7
Odds and ends (full odds provided by our partner, PointsBet)
Crystal Palace are the heavy favorites at +115, while Southampton are outsiders at +245 to win. The draw is +225.
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Prediction
I actually think Saints could sneak a draw here. Palace’s intensity against Everton may have taken a lot out of them and Saints have some key defensive players returning, which will help. Crystal Palace 1-1 Southampton.