Crystal Palace welcome strugglers Huddersfield to Selhurst Park on Saturday as Premier League action finally returns after the international break.
As the international stars return from their respective national duties, Palace will shift their focus back onto securing Premier League survival after crashing out of the FA Cup to Watford just before the break.
For the Terriers, this weekend's football could spell the end of their Premier League campaign. Should they lose to Palace, and both Burnley and Southampton win their respective games,
they will be officially relegated back to the Championship. Should the side be relegated, they will match Derby's record of the earliest ever relegation in Premier League history.
Check out 90min's preview of the match below.
Where to Watch
When Is Kick Off? | Saturday 30 March |
What Time Is Kick Off? | 15:00 GMT |
Where Is it Played? | Selhurst Park |
TV Channel/ Live Stream? | N/A |
Referee? | Lee Robert |
Team News
Crystal Palace are likely to be without star man Wilfred Zaha, after he missed their previous FA Cup defeat with a hamstring injury. Despite being selected by the Ivory Coast for international duty, Zaha did not feature for Les Éléphants and is expected to be sidelined this weekend.
As of this morning, Zaha still in Ivory Coast and - by the looks of his Instagram boomerang - getting treatment out there for hamstring strain.
— Simon Collings (@sr_collings) March 22, 2019
Ivory Coast play Rwanda tomorrow #cpfc pic.twitter.com/LdQmstEtMo
Furthermore, defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka's fitness will be assessed on Wednesday after he pulled out of the England Under-21 squad. Mamadou Sakho also remains unavailable.
Huddersfield continue to struggle with a number of injuries, with Jonathan Hogg, Laurent Depoitre and Juninho Bacuna all expected to miss the clash.
Predicted Lineups
Crystal Palace | Guaita; Wan-Bissaka, Kelly, Tomkins, Schlupp; Milivojevic, Kouyate, Meyer, McArthur; Townsend, Batshuayi |
Huddersfield | Lossl; Smith, Stankovic, Kongolo, Durm; Puncheon, Mooy, Rowe, Pritchard; Kachunga, Mounie |
Head to Head Record
The Terriers claimed a famous 3-0 victory over Palace in this fixture last season and are unbeaten in their last three matches at Selhurst Park.
Palace, who will be looking for their first ever victory at home against the Terriers in the top flight will also be looking for their first ever home goal in the tie. In the seven top-flight meetings between the two sides, the Eagles have never scored a goal. All 12 goals have come from the away side.
There have been 29 clashes between these two sides, and despite the Eagle's difficulties in previous meetings at home, they edge the head-to-head record with 15 wins to Huddersfield's 12 with 17 draws.
Recent Form
The Eagles come into the fixture on the back of consecutive defeats in all competitions. With only five points separating Roy Hodgson's side from the relegation zone, they will hope to capitalise on the Terrier's misfortunes and claim the vital three points.
Huddersfield haven't claimed any Premier League points since their shock victory over Wolves. The side was pegged back in their last league clash against West Ham, but their three goals against the Hammers away should give fans some hope they'll get on the score sheet again this week. An away win at Selhurst Park would only be their second away win of the season, with their only away win coming in a 2-0 victory away at Wolves in the Molineux in November.
Here's how each team has performed in their last five fixtures in the Premier League:
Crystal Palace | Huddersfield |
Crystal Palace 1-2 Brighton (09/03) | West Ham 4-3 Huddersfield (16/03) |
Burnley 1-3 Crystal Palace (02/03) | Huddersfield 0-2 Bournemouth (09/03) |
Crystal Palace 1-3 Man Utd (27/02) | Brighton 1-0 Huddersfield (02/03) |
Leicester 1-4 Crystal Palace (23/02) | Huddersfield 1-0 Wolves (26/02) |
Crystal Palace 1-1 West Ham (09/02) | Newcastle 2-0 Huddersfield (23/02) |
Prediction
With the caliber of the clash and both sides fighting for Premier League survival next season, the fixture should prove to be a tight game.
Even without Zaha, Palace should edge the Terriers but expect both sides to get on the scoresheet as the away side cannot go down without a fight and at this point of the season have nothing to lose.
Prediction: Crystal Palace 2-1 Huddersfield
Source : 90min