Palace v Sunderland - Team news preview

Palace start the festive fixture list early, with tonight's home game against Sunderland being played in front of the Sky cameras.

The Eagles go into the match on the back of two straight defeats, while Sunderland have been steadily moving up the table ever since the arrival of Roy Keane as manager. The Black Cats are unbeaten in their last seven games.

There's mixed news for Palace boss Peter Taylor. Dougie Freedman is back from injury, and Danny Butterfield is also expected to be fit to play.

However, Michael Hughes is definitely out and defender Leon Cort is still not fully fit.

Sunderland have injury worries of their own, with the likes of Kenny Cunningham, Stephen Wright, Stephen Elliott and Nyron Nosworthy all expected to miss out.