Championship football returned last week, following the two week international break and for Crystal Palace that meant a trip to moneybags Leicester City who were breaking in new manager Nigel Pearson who took charge for his first game since resigning as Hull City boss to join The Foxes.
Dougie Freedman had suffered a blow during the international break as youngster Jonathan Williams is expected to be out for up to 3 months with a broken leg. Williams sustained the injury against Armenia U21s as he represented Wales U21s. But the show must go on and the two teams took to the field for their first encounter since ex-Eagle Neil Danns joined the Leicester City ranks.
Leicester offered the first threat as striker David Nugent was found with some space in the box but completely missed the ball and it toddled away for clearing. Then, a clever one-two between Dyer and Konchesky helped to put Gallagher in space on the edge of the box but, slightly unbalanced, his shot went high and wide of Speroni's goal. Nugent once again managed to find a chance in the box and this time connected with the ball but Nathaniel Clyne was on hand for the Eagles to turn it behind for a corner.
Palace made a chance of their own in the second half as Wilfried Zaha made one of his infamous dazzling runs and crossed the ball to Glenn Murray whose headed effort fizzed past the near post.
Zaha and Murray linked up again to create another chance for The Eagles, Zaha's pass gave Murray space to turn and his effort from outside the box was just above the Leicester goalposts.
Leicester kept the pressure on, Nugent passing off to Gallagher in the box whose effort lacked power as Speroni smothered the ball in the center of his goal.
The second half was much like the first, both teams putting on pressure, firstly Palace came from a corner but Paddy McCarthy's backwards header flew wide of the far post, this chance was closely followed by a long run from Nathaniel Clyne who ran himself to the edge of the box before his left-footed effort missed the target by a yard or two over the bar.
Deadlock was broken as a well worked team move from the home side put ex-Leeds & Everton striker, Jermaine Beckford in a brilliant position and he slid the ball under Speroni's outstretched physique.
Beckford was in on goal again as a great interception led to him attempting to pass it around Speroni but Julian, as cool as a f*cking cucumber, controlled it with the ability of a world-class striker, okay maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but it was still a good read from the Eagles No.1.
Kagisho Dikgacoi was given a chance to level it up as Zaha's persistence led to a cross and the South African was unlucky to scoop the ball over the goal.
New loaning Chris Martin seemed to show some promise as his first effort came as Glenn Murray's efforts deflected to him and his scissor-kick volley flew over the bar, closely followed by a well-aimed cross from Clyne that the Norwich striker did manage to latch on to with a great diving header, only to be denied by Kasper Schmeichel from point blank range.
Speroni was in good form again as he first saved Gallagher's free kick and then kept out Wellens from the corner that followed.
Gallagher put Leicester in a comfortable lead with fifteen minutes to spare, a wonderful strike from 20-25 yards, rocketed to Speroni's top corner, just out of reach.
It was clear that Gallagher wasn't done yet and he had another gem in his back pocket, this time the ball was cleared by the defenders but Gallagher was on hand to pick it up and his effort from 25 yards flew into the opposing corner with tremendous pace and power. Leicester scoring three excellent goals and the defenders and keeper doing their job meant that Palace slipped to tenth in the league, Leicester climbing to ninth and Nigel Pearson a very happy man on his first game in charge of The Foxes.
Team News:
Crystal Palace will be without long term absentees Lee Hills and Jonathan Williams, whilst Alex Marrow remains a doubt. New loan signing Chris Martin impressed against Leicester and may see a bench spot reserved for him. Palace have also signed Cardiff defender Dekel Keinan on loan this week, Dekel is no stranger to Championship football having played at Blackpool and Cardiff since coming to England from his home country, Israel, whom he plays international football for.
Millwall have almost a full strength squad, winger Chris Hackett has joined Exeter City on loan until January, whilst Tamika Mkandawire is ruled out for a month after undergoing surgery. The Lions have also tempted Aston Villa defensive duo Shane Lowry and Nathan Baker to joining them on emergency loan until January. Lowry has represented ROI U21s but changed allegiances to Australia in 2009. Baker is an English U20s rep and signed a new three-year deal with the Midlands club.
Preview
Aside from the clashes with Brighton & Hove Albion this year, the only other fixtures that are top priority in Eagles fans' diaries are the clashes with South London rivals Millwall. The Lions did the double over Palace last season and I'm sure many fans, like myself, will be hoping to give out some just desserts on Saturday at Selhurst Park.
The rivalry between the two clubs blossomed in the 1950s but was brushed aside as Palace fans felt Brighton were the bigger rivals. Between 1988 and 2002 however, Millwall took prime rival status as Brighton slipped out of the second tier of football. Millwall being six miles away from Selhurst it was often the case that players would flit between the two clubs such as Darren Ward, Tony Craig, Matty Lawrence, Phil Barber & Andy Roberts.
Having been in League 1 for four years, up until last season, Millwall had not met Palace until they beat The Eagles 1-0 at Selhurst Park last season, followed by a 3-0 scoreline at The Den. Leaving Palace fans fuming.
Millwall sit 10 spots below Crystal Palace in the league, however that was not the case this time last season as Millwall sat 8 spots above The Eagles.
This game proves to be a great contest as the team that Dougie Freedman has built thus far has proved its worth by overcoming league leaders Southampton, leading against second place West Ham before allowing them to draw level as well as overcoming premiership side Wigan in the Carling Cup.
Millwall always bring their A-game to Selhurst and will not go down without a fight.
Expect action, a great atmosphere & a game with no friendly chit chat between the teams.
CPFC line-up:
Speroni
Clyne McCarthy Gardner Moxey
Wright Jedinak
Ambrose
Zaha Scannell
Murray
Subs: Price, Keinan, Dikgacoi, Parr, Martin
Millwall's last six:
L-L-W-W-W-D
Last time out:
Millwall 3-0 Crystal Palace
Puncheon (8', 65', 71')
Match Facts:
- Crystal Palace have conceded an average of 0.62 goals at home this season, scoring an average of 1 per game.
- Millwall have scored an average of 0.88 goals on their travel, conceding 1.63.
- The two clubs have met a total of 92 times over the years, Palace winning 27 of these Millwall 38 and a draw was the outcome 27 times
- Millwall are at their most dangerous and defensively solid straight after half time, scoring 5 goals without conceding any in the 15 minutes after the break.
- Crystal Palace are their most dangerous in the final 15 minutes of the game, scoring 8 goals in that time frame. They are at their most defensively strong in the second and final third of the first half, conceding just 1 goal in each third.
My Predictions:
Crystal Palace 2-1 Millwall
Murray Simpson
Martin (sub)
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