Millwall Preview: Saturday 26th November 2011 (League)

Last week:
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)

Leicester City Preview: Sunday 20th November (League)

First of all, following my previous "International Break" posts, I would just like to specify that the game against Leicester City is in fact on Sunday, NOT Saturday. My apologies for anyone who booked the day off work to attend by following my information.
Secondly, welcome back! It's been a busy two weeks for the family at Selhurst Park, with good and bad news. The good news of course being that Norwich City striker, Chris Martin has signed a loan deal for Crystal Palace, which sees him train and play with The Eagles up until January 2nd 2012. Sadly, there is bad news, youngster Jonathan Williams was seriously injured in a Wales U21 fixture with Armenia on Tuesday, he suffered a broken fibula in his right leg. The club website has released an article with the following quote:

"A scan last night showed that Palace midfielder Jonny Williams has broken his fibula in his right leg. At this stage the injury looks like a non-displaced fracture meaning an operation shouldn't be needed, however he is due to have another scan later this week which will give the club further details of the extent of the injury."

Unfortunately, this injury will see young Jonny's leg in plaster for four to six weeks, with the approximate sidelined time being three to four months, which rules him out of the double against Millwall, the home fixture against Br*ghton, Southampton away as well as our Carling Cup fixture against, Premier League title holders, Manchester United. I, as many of you are, am wishing Jonny a speedy recovery and we hope to hear of his return to training by January!

On a lighter note, the boys in red and blue travel to the King Power Stadium (formerly The Walker Stadium) to face-off against moneybags Leicester City, in the nPower Championship. The Foxes were recently rumoured to have been on the prowl for Eagles' boss Dougie Freedman. The rumours, however, turned out to be just that, invented by Sky Sports! Now onto the preview:

Team News: 

The Eagles face their first fixture back from the International Break without long term absentees Lee Hills (knee), Alex Marrow, who suffered a setback in recovering from a previous injury, and of course new boy to the list, Jonathan Williams (leg). Apart from Williams, there are no new injuries for Freedman to worry about, however the club has signed striker Chris Martin on loan.

The Foxes are without veteran striker Darius Vassell who is expected to be out for the rest of the season following a knee operation after he tore medial ligaments and ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament against West Ham three weeks ago. 

Preview

Crystal Palace travel to the King Power Stadium on Sunday for a clash with moneybags Leicester City. The Foxes have been manager-less for the majority of the month and have recently whisked Hull City boss Nigel Pearson from the KC Stadium to take over from ex-England coach Sven Goran-Eriksson. Nick Barmby takes over as caretaker at Hull until they have found a replacement as Pearson takes his assistants with him.

With Palace astounding many men this season with their flying start to the Championship, Pearson will be hoping to clip the wings of The Eagles who were unbeaten against City last season, winning the tie at Selhurst Park and fighting for a draw on the away trip. 

Eagles boss Dougie Freedman will be hoping to get his boys back to winning form as they lost their first game since 24th September, against Cardiff City just before the break. The Eagles were without a win in just over two weeks before this game as they drew back-to-back home fixtures against Reading and Portsmouth. These results combined, saw Palace drop to sixth, from fourth, in the league standings.
Leicester, in their three games before the break, did grab three points against Burnley but lost their other two fixtures against Leeds and West Ham. Despite losing two more games than Palace in the run-in to the international break, The Foxes still earned more points and bring themselves within six places and three points of the play-off places, the final spot being held up by The Eagles.
In recent meetings the sides are extremely evenly matched, Leicester have only gained one more win over Palace in a total of 57 meetings in all competitions. The sides have drawn 16 times.

My CPFC line-up

Speroni

Clyne                 McCarthy                Gardner                   Moxey

Wright                Jedinak

Zaha                                                                          Parr

Scannell               Easter

Subs: Price, Ramage, Dikcagoi, Garvan, Murray

Leicester's last six:

L-W-L-L-W-L

Last time out:

Leicester City 1-1 Crystal Palace

Oakley (58')          Scannell (31')

Match Facts:

- Crystal Palace are without a win in 3 games, drawing two of these.

- Leicester have won just two of the last six, losing the other four.

- The Eagles concede an average of 1.13 goals away from home, scoring 1.25.

- The Foxes concede an average of 1.25 goals at home, scoring 1.37.

- Since the season of 05/06 the sides have not gained a win each in the two meetings of a season.

My Predicion:

If the right attitude has been instilled within the boys since their defeat to Cardiff I expect The Eagles to take all three points. Leicester have not drawn at home in eight games, so there's likely to be a winner and a loser in this one, no shared points.

Leicester City 0-2 Crystal Palace

                                  Jedinak

                                  Scannell

International Break: Part Two

With the highly anticipated return of league football nearly upon us, I've decided to sneak in one more short post about the latest info from South London, the real South London, not that pansy bit near New Cross.
Anyway, today, my little Eagle-lovers I am here to inform you of performances from Crystal Palace players that have stepped up to International level this week! Players in this section of footballing greatness (from Selhurst Park) are:

Lewis Price (GK) - Wales
Nathaniel Clyne (DEF) - England U21
Jonathan Williams (MID) - Wales U21
Jonathan Parr (MID) - Norway

Other players were on standby for call-up if necessary, these were:

Andrew Dorman (MID) - Wales
Jermaine Easter (ATT) - Wales

Lewis Price was the substitute goalkeeper for Wales' friendly against Norway on Saturday. Unfortunately the Palace sub stopper was unused for this game but sometimes in football you just have to sit and wait for your moment. During that game, however, one Eagles man did step on to the field, for Wales' opposition, Norway.
Jonathan Parr, who has been impressive so far this season made yet another appearance for his country as a substitute in the dying stages, but was still awarded a solid 4.0 match rating by Sky Sports. The Welsh romped to a 4-1 victory with goals from Spurs' Gareth Bale, Liverpool's Craig Bellamy & a Sam Vokes (Wolves) double. Norway's goalscorer was Championship side Portsmouth's Erik Huseklepp.

Nathaniel Clyne received Player of the Month for October in the Championship and was awarded another honor just a few weeks after his return from a broken foot, by a double call-up from England U21's manager Stuart Pearce. His first appearance, which was his International U21 debut, was in the 5-0 thrashing of Iceland on Friday 11th. Clyne started in the left side of defense, as opposed to his usual right back role that he dominates at Selhurst Park. Clyne put in a good solid performance and stayed on pitch for the full ninety minutes to help shut out the opposition.
His second U21 cap came against Belgium on Monday 14th and with the England U21s sitting top of their European Championship qualifying group, they were hoping to put some distance between them and the other four contenders. Belgium scraped a 2-1 win over England and brought themselves within 4 points of England's 12. Despite the loss, Pearce kept young Nathaniel on the field for the full ninety, clearly not holding him responsible for any defensive errors that may have led to the goals. An overall good start to international football for Clyne.

The final Palace man in International action this week was academy prodigy Jonathan Williams who was called up for the Wales U21 squad to play his part in their 0-0 draw with Armenia on Tuesday 15th. Wales U21 manager Brian Flynn awarded Jonathan a starting place but the Welsh wing wizard was dealt a crushing blow as he was subbed off after a crunching tackle was made on him. The severity of the injury he sustained is unknown but there are rumors and speculation that it is a broken leg. If this is the case he could be out for a minimum of 3-4 months. I'm sure I speak for all of you when I say, get well soon Jonny!

In other news...


Crystal Palace boss Dougie Freedman makes a new signing this week in the form of Norwich City striker Chris Martin. Despite speculation that he is in fact a member of the band Coldplay, I can assure you all that he is a proven striker and has scored 34 goals for The Canaries in his 114 appearances. Martin started three of Norwich's first four Premier League this season, the most recent being in their 2-0 defeat to Palace's Carling Cup QF opponents Manchester United.
Chris will hope to get some match-time under his belt and with any luck a few goals as he returns to Norwich just after the new year.
Loan strikers have proven effective at Selhurst Park, James Vaughan who Palace signed from Everton scored some vital goals before returning to Goodison Park, only then to be sold to Martin's club Norwich City.
Freddie Sears is another name that springs to mind when I think of previous loaned strikers as he scored few but important goals during his spell from West Ham.
Pablo Counago made thirty appearances for the Eagles during their last season, scoring two goals, after his loan spell he returned to Ipswich Town, where he has scored 23 goals to date.

The Eagles are back in action this Saturday at the King Power Stadium. I will, as usual, be providing my own facts and figures on either the Thursday or Friday leading up to the game so check back here and don't forget to follow my Twitter account for updates on latest blog posts here: http://www.twitter.com/DTaylorCPFC

Until then, be loud, be proud, be Palace! EEEEEEEEEAGLESSS!!!!

International Break

With the International Break upon us, I've taken it upon myself to provide my fellow Eagles with a small fix of some CPFC news, facts etc.
But before I get in to all of that, I suppose I better give you all a match report of our away trip to Wales, to face Cardiff City in the Championship.

Saturday's Action


Crystal Palace traveled up to Wales on Saturday 5th November for a clash with fellow play-off hopefuls Cardiff City. Both sides had excellent records going into this fixture so it was a close call to say who would come out on top.

The Eagles were first to have an effort worth recording as Wilfried Zaha worked for the ball in midfield before handing it to KG who laid off Scannell to fire a long range effort which was turned over by Cardiff 'keeper Tom Heaton.
Cardiff came back at Palace with their own long ranged effort, Peter Whittingham rattling the crossbar with a well struck, left-footed shot.

The second half saw Cardiff come out with a great chance early on, McNaughton feeding a well aimed pass into Kenny Miller, the Scottish international flicking the ball around Paddy McCarthy, only to have his shot well saved by Julian Speroni.

Miller did eventually get the breakthrough for Cardiff, an excellent team move, consisting of almost ten consecutive passes before the initial cross was headed on to a Cardiff man who found Miller in the box, his first time effort beating Julian Speroni, 1-0 Cardiff! This was Miller's fourth goal in six games.

Cardiff were fortunate to get a free kick in a good position after Cardiff man McNaughton walked into Jermaine Easter as he attempted to shut down a pass elsewhere. Referee, Rushton, saw it as a deliberate attempt to prevent Cowie giving a return pass and awarded Cardiff a free kick. Long range specialist Peter Whittingham stood over the ball for the free kick and his left footed curler was sent right up into Speroni's top right hand corner and gave Cardiff a 2-0 lead.

The full time whistle blows, meaning Cardiff win 2-0, giving them back-to-back victories and leapfrogging Palace in the table. The Eagles drop from fourth to sixth with Blackpool filling the fifth spot.
Palace lose for the first time in eight games and have conceded for the first time in over ten hours!
The international break a welcome rest for The Eagles.

In other news...


As I'm sure many of you were aware, Nathaniel Clyne was awarded the Player of the month for October, whilst manager Dougie Freedman was a nominee in the race for manager of the month, beaten to the punch by Birmingham boss Chris Hughton.
Clyne's award is a reward for his determination to return from his pre-season injury of a broken foot. Since his return against Watford, Nathaniel has helped The Eagles to a consecutive clean sheets over Watford, Bristol City, Ipswich, Southampton (which saw Palace through to the Quarter Finals of the Carling Cup), Reading & Portsmouth. Four of these six games were victories for The Eagles, the latter two were 0-0 draws. This record was put to an end by Cardiff (see above). Congratulations to Nathaniel on his well deserved award!

Nathaniel Clyne was brought through the academy for Crystal Palace and from one defensive achievement to an attacking one, academy ace Kyle De Silva's goal against Ipswich Town is in the running for October's academy Goal of the Month! Kyle's goal was an excellent team move, if you wish to watch Kyle's goal and the other contenders alongside him please click the link below. You can also vote for Kyle's goal too by selecting Goal A and clicking "Vote". Congratulations to Kyle for his goal on 1st October which helped the young Eagles to a 5-2 victory!

To view & vote for Kyle's goal, click here:
http://www.lfe.org.uk/news/goal-of-the-month-october-2011

Nathaniel Clyne gets two mentions this week, one of course for his player of the month award, the other for his participation in yesterday's England Under 21's UEFA European Championship qualifier against Iceland. Clyne was selected by boss Stuart Pearce to make his U21's debut. Clyne was part of the starting XI and although he was positioned at left back, not his preferred right back role, he still put in a good display and helped to keep a fine clean sheet, whilst goals from Marvin Sordell, Martin Kelly, Craig Dawson and a Gary Gardner double secured a convincing 5-0 victory for the young Englishmen. Congratulations to Nathaniel and the whole squad on their victory, this victory keeps their 100% record in tact as they attempt to qualify for the  2013 competition.

Fringe player Andrew Dorman has gone out on loan to League Two side Bristol Rovers this week, the Welsh midfield man has admitted in an interview that he still thought they were in League One when he signed, he told BBC Radio Bristol.

"If I'm being honest, I thought they were still in League One! But I've got the chance to move them up the table and I'm just looking forward to playing and doing well!"


Dorman, 29, joined The Eagles last year from Scottish club St Mirren but hasn't made much of an impact at Selhurst Park, despite his continuous excellent appearances in Reserves matches. He has been given the all-clear to play in Rovers' FA Cup tie with Corby this weekend and will remain at the Memorial Stadium until 2nd January. Best of luck to Andy and hopefully this loan spell will give him a boost when he returns to Selhurst!

That's it for now! I will hopefully get another post out during next week and of course there will be the preview of our next game, which comes against Leicester on the nineteenth, before the match day!

Until then Eagles, be safe, be well and keep supporting our wonderful club! EEEEEEAGLES!!

Cardiff City Preview: Saturday 5th November 2011 (League)

Tuesday's action...


The Eagles played their third home game in a row on Tuesday night, against manager-less Portsmouth. In previous meetings the sides have been fairly evenly matched, each winning their fair share of games. With Portsmouth on a run of no away wins all season and The Eagles on a run of 7 unbeaten with 5 consecutive clean sheets, Crystal Palace were heavy favorites to take all three points, but football is not played on paper.

Both sides displayed excellent defensive abilities in the opening stages, Anthony Gardner and Nathaniel Clyne impressing for Palace. It took just over twenty minutes for either side to create any real threat on goal, with Clyne and right-wing skill machine Wilfried Zaha combining well for Clyne to get in on goal, but couldn't get the ball out from under his feet inside the box and Pompey cleared.
The visitors soon came back with some great pressure of their own; Liam Lawrence's header going just over the bar before Tal Ben Haim's crashed agaisnt it, Speroni beaten, The Eagles saved by the woodwork.
The Eagles continued to attack from the flanks but Pompey's experienced side showed it's age as they dealt with crosses from the likes of Jonathan Parr and Dean Moxey.
The second half saw the visitors come out fighting with Joel Ward's cross-come-shot almost lobbing 'keeper Julian Speroni but the Argentinian turnd it behind for a corner.
The second half continued and there were no real efforts on goal, referee Darren Drysdale blew his well on far too many occasions for my liking but there was no unintentional bias to be seen.
Lone strker for The Eagles Glenn Murray seemed isolated for the most part of the game as Palace tried time after time to knock it long for him, to no avail.
With a shuffle from both managers to attempt to break the deadlock, Darren Ambrose made way for Jermaine Easter to provide Murray with some attacking partnership going into the last fifteen minutes but time was running out.
Goalkeeper for the visitors, Stephen Henderson had yet to make a notable save but Julian Speroni had made at least four, a scary moment of panic in the dying stages saw the ball take a dodgy bounce from a long range effort, bouncing off of Speroni's left shoulder and back into play, the defence managed to clear it away. The last real chance came with the visitors as Dave Kitson headed over the bar from seven yards.
0-0 the final score, Pompey dropping to 20th in the table, Palace drop one place to 4th.

Team News
Lee Hills remains the only long term absentee for Dougie Freedman's Crystal Palace, Owen Garvan was expected to have returned by now but is yet to appear since supposedly returning from his knee injury. If selected, this fixture will be Aleksander Tunchev's last, as his loan expires on the day.

Manager of The Bluebirds Malky Mackay will have a near full-fit squad to choose from this week following an injury crisis last month. One or two players are not expected to be match fit but still available for selection.

Preview
The Eagles travel to Wales this weekend, more specifically Cardiff, even more specifically Cardiff City Stadium, home of The Bluebirds.
The Welsh outfit were contenders for play-offs last season, being snuffed out by Reading in the second leg of their play-off semi finals. This season looks to hold a similar fate for the one remaining Welsh side in the football league, companions Swansea City were successful in their promotion campaign, gaining a spot in the top flight. With Cardiff sitting just below Palace in the league this season, both sides will hope to edge away from their play-off place pals.
Crystal Palace have been on form recently, keeping six consecutive clean sheets and going 7 games without being defeated. Their two most recent games have both ended in a scoreless draw, both games being played at home, this is their first away fixture for two weeks.
In recent meetings, the sides have been fairly evenly matched as they've drawn twice in the last six and in the other five fixtures, bar one, there has been only one goal between them.
Overall, the sides have met a total of 59 times, The Eagles taking 28 wins, The Bluebirds 12. So the stats overall, favour Crystal Palace but as we all know, football is not played on paper and you can be sure to see a strong contest when these two sides take to the field on Saturday. As it's Guy Fawkes' night, expect fireworks!

My CPFC line-up

Speroni

Clyne             McCarthy         Gardner             Moxey

Wright

Zaha                                                          Parr

Ambrose

Scannell            Murray

Subs: Price, Ramage, Jedinak, Williams, Easter

Cardiff's last six:

L-D-D-W-D-D

Last time out:

Crystal Palace 1-0 Cardiff City

Kagisho Dikgacoi (82')

Match Facts:

- Crystal Palace have beaten Cardiff more than double the amount their opponents have got the better of them.

- Cardiff's 12 wins against Palace have all come in the league, Palace have won two of the three League Cup games, winning the third on aggregate.

- Crystal Palace score an average of 1.43 goals away from home, conceding 1.

- Cardiff score an average of 2.14 goals at home, conceding 1.42.

- The last team to score three goals against the other was Crystal Palace in 1985, before this both sides scored 3 in 1973.

- The largest scoring game between the sides was in 1934 when Palace beat Cardiff 6-1.

My Prediction

Considering neither side has scored more than two in the last sixteen games:

Cardiff City 1-1 Crystal Palace

Whittingham         Scannell

Portsmouth Preview: Tuesday 1st November 2011 (League)

Saturday's Action...


Crystal Palace hosted Reading on this family day on Saturday, with both sides on a good run of form of late, this was due to be a close contest and that's how it began.
Both sides applied early pressure, Jem Karacen for The Royals tested Speroni before Wilfried Zaha beat a man or two to get his shot away, which was straight at Reading 'keeper Federici.
Rumours that Dougie Freedman was going to be tempted away by Championship rivals Leicester City, nicknamed The Foxes, were among the forums this week and many were sure they had sent a spy as a stray fox came running onto the pitch, showing a particular interest in youngster Jonathan Williams as he lined up for a corner. Williams' corner hitting the top of the crossbar before going behind for a goal kick.
Academy starlets Zaha and Sean Scannell have made an impeccable start to the season and they combined well for Zaha to pull off a shot that just drifted wide of Federici's goal.
Reading came back at The Eagles; a corner drifting over everyone before it was pulled back to Jem Karacen who once again saw his shot saved by Julian Speroni.
The Eagles did see the ball hit the back of the net in the first half, Johnny Williams' lofted through ball found Glenn Murray who did well to turn the ball in at an acute angle but was ruled offside by the linesman.
The second half continued to be a battle, an early free kick taken my Scannell found Mile Jedinak in the box, who's header was tipped over by Federici. Substitutes for The Royals, Jimmy Kebe and Noel Hunt caused a scare for Palace as Kebe's long cross found Hunt at the back post, his headed effort hitting the crossbar.
Jedinak won yet another header, this time from a corner, but his effort, which was destined for the bottom corner, was cleared off the line.
The Eagles have had a couple of penalties in their last few games and had another claim for this one as Glenn Murray gave the ball to Zaha in the box, the ball was nicked from him and as Jonathan Parr chased the loose ball Federici dived at his feet, flooring the Norwegian international as he grabbed the ball. Screams for a penalty echoed around the ground but referee Woolmer rightly gave a corner.
The last kick, or header as it were, of the game came from a Reading player in the form of Gorkss whose goal was denied for a push in the box on Palace 'keeper Julian Speroni.
The final score was 0-0 but was in no way a fair reflection of the game's events. Two disallowed goals and a penalty shout, as well as a couple of visits from a friendly fox. Crystal Palace move up one place to third, Reading sixteenth.

Team News:


Crystal Palace may see Darren Ambrose rested as the midfielder returned from injury against Southampton but received an injury when scoring the opener, despite being subbed on at the weekend. Lee Hills still remains a long term absentee and midfielders Garvan and Dikcagoi could make cameos as they are expected to reach match fitness.

Portsmouth signed Man City midfielder Abdul Razak on a one-month loan and the midfielder made his debut in their away defeat to high-flying Derby. Ex-Eagle Hayden Mullins says:

On Razak:

"He's a good player with lots of ability - you can see why he's at Manchester City"

Mullins made over 250 appearances for Palace before signing to West Ham in 2003. He also said in a pre-match interview:

On Dougie:

"I know Dougie well, I played with him for many years. He's doing a terrific job."

Preview
Crystal Palace enjoy their third home game in a row on Tuesday night against a struggling Portsmouth that are yet to gain three points from away games. Portsmouth are not only manager-less, but also have the worst away record in the league so far this season, with two draws and an astonishing five losses. The ex-Premier League boys were wounded by the loss of manager Steve Cotterill who left the southern coast outfit to manage an equally struggling Nottingham Forest.
Although Crystal Palace have a record of giving strugglers a boost, they will not be expected to slip up in this one as they are yet to lose a midweek home fixture, not only this season but since March 2010 when they lost to moneybags Leicester City 0-1. Portsmouth on the other hand have not won a Tuesday night away fixture since beating Millwall 1-0 on 19th October 2010 (ironically, this was my eighteenth birthday).
In recent meetings Portsmouth have shown to be a tough fixture for The Eagles when they travel down to Fratton Park but when Selhurst Park is the venue, Palace provide a show and romped to a 4-1 victory in the last meeting, James Vaughan with a hat-trick. The two fixtures either side of that were at Portsmouth's ground and The Eagles lost 1-0 in the league and were beaten on penalties in the Carling Cup last season after holding a 1-1 draw for 120 minutes.
Up until those three fixtures, the two sides had not met since Crystal Palace's most recent stint in the top flight in 2004/05, Portsmouth completing the double over Palace. Pre-dating that season the sides met 52 times and of the total 57 meetings, Crystal Palace have won 22, Pompey 14 with a drawn result on 21 occasions.

My CPFC line-up:

Speroni

Clyne               McCarthy                 Gardner                Parr

Wright                 Jedinak

Zaha                   Scannell               Williams

Murray

Subs: Price, Ramage, Moxey, Garvan, Easter

Portsmouth's last six:

L-W-L-W-L-L

Last time out:

Tuesday 22nd February 2011

Portsmouth 1-0 Crystal Palace

Nugent (65')

Match Facts:

- The two sides have met 57 times in all competitions, Crystal Palace winning 22, Pompey 14.

- Crystal Palace concede an average of 0.71 goals at home, scoring 1.14.

- Pompey score an average of 0.86 goals away from home, conceding 1.71.

- In the last fixture, 4/5 of Crystal Palace's defenders were booked (Clyne, McCarthy, Wright & Moxey)

- Pompey's total away points does not add up to one win yet as they have only gained two draws from their seven away games.

- Crystal Palace have lost one game at home this season, they then went on to beat Middlesbrough in the cup three days later.

My prediction:


Crystal Palace 2-0 Portsmouth

Murray
Scannell

Reading Preview: Saturday 29th October 2011 (League)

Tuesday's action...


The midweek fixture for The Eagles saw them host a formidable Southampton side who sit top of the nPower Championship, 3 spots above Palace, having just been promoted from League One this season. However, there were no League points up for grabs in this one, there was a coveted spot in the Quarter Finals of the League Cup.
The Eagles' defence was tested early by the visitors as Darren Ambrose found himself clearing a header from The Saints' Jack Cork and the visitors continued to push Peter Ramage clearing away a dangerous cross to the near post not long before Lewis Price, goalkeeper for the Eagles, was forced into a fumble which was cleared by Ramage again.
Jonathan Parr found himself in some space in the centre of the park and began a run forward, his pass was cut out but fell to Kagisho "KG" Dikcagoi just a yard behind and his long range effort cleared the bar by a few feet.
The second half saw Palace come out fighting, Jermaine Easter's run to the edge of the box was wasted as his effort also cleared the top of the goal. Easter came close yet again when youngster Jonathan Williams made a mazy run before a tricky pass found Ambrose who fed the striker a good opportunity but he fired just wide.
The breakthrough came with another cameo from Williams, his cross finding Darren Ambrose just a yard or two from goal, tapping it home to make it 1-0 to the Eagles. Unfortunately he picked up an injury in the process and was subbed off just minutes later for Australian international Mile Jedinak.
Nine minutes after the first goal, Jonathan Williams was brought down by Dan Harding in the box and awarded a penalty for his troubles. Jermaine Easter who had been unlucky not to score once or twice during open play, stepped to slot home his second goal of the campaign, giving Palace a two goal lead going into the last ten minutes.
Second string 'keeper Lewis Price made some good saves through the game and did well to hold a low aimed free kick from Southampton before tipping over another free kick aimed in the opposite direction to the first. Price gained his second clean sheet of the season, the first coming against Crawley Town in the first round of the competition. He's proving a worthy understudy to number one Julian Speroni.
Palace through to the Quarter Finals now and could draw any of the big Premier League clubs or Championship rivals Cardiff in the next round.

Team News:


Crystal Palace may see Darren Ambrose sidelined as he limped off in the win over So'ton, having just come back from a foot injury. Lee Hills is still ruled out for the long term with his cruciate knee ligament injury. Aleksander Tunchev was ruled out against So'ton with a "slight groin strain" so he could return if fit. Garvan may return from his injury respectively.

Reading have a total of seven players out on loan, one of which is striker Nicholas Bignall who's debut in 2009 saw him put two past Burton Albion in a 5-1 victory. Another of Reading's outward loaned players is dfender Marcus Williams whose loan to Sheffield United was extended to the maximum 93 days which means he doesn't return for The Royals until 13th December. Jay Tabb is also out for the visitors with a head injury which he sustained against Burnley, his injury giving his replacement time to score a 98th minute winner.
Palace fans will be expected to see ex-Eagle Jobi McAnuff return to Selhurst Park (insert abusive chant here).

Preview
Crystal Palace face Berkshire outfit Reading on Saturday, the two sides do have one thing in common going into this fixture and that's that both clubs' last opponents were league leaders Southampton. Palace of course overcame The Saints on Tuesday for a place in the Carling Cup last 8, Reading hosted So'ton last Saturday, being denied three points thanks to a late goal from De Ridder in the 80th minute; final score 1-1.
Reading were the second highest scorers past Palace last season scoring a total of six goals in the two fixtures, Derby beat them with seven. Last time out however the two sides were equally excellent as they provided the crowd at Selhurst Park with a six goal thriller split 3-3. The away trip saw The Eagles sent packing with a 3-0 stomping. The goals are rarely absent in this fixture as there has only been one scoreless draw in the last twenty meetings, this coming in the season of 2008/09 at Selhurst Park. The 19 games surrounding this game contained a total of 74 goals, Palace scoring 36 of these.
Palace's most notable victory over The Royals is the 1-6 thrashing they handed out in 1996, manager Dougie Freedman claiming the second.
With Reading sitting 15th in the table and without a clean sheet since October 1st when they drew 0-0 with third place Middlesbrough, they are unbeaten in 7 and will definitely hope to register all three points in this one. They will be confident having a current run of 3 games unbeaten away from home.
Palace, however, are on an unbeaten run of 5 and a clean sheet run of 4 and will hope to add to their excellent current form.

My CPFC line-up

Speroni

Clyne            McCarthy                Tunchev               Parr

Wright            Jedinak

Zaha               Garvan             Scannell

Murray

Subs: Price, Gardner, Williams, Dikgacoi, Easter

Reading's last six:

D-D-W-D-W-D

Last time out:

Crystal Palace 3-3 Reading

Ambrose (1')          Long (30')

Danns (25')            Kebe (49')

Easter (68')            Hunt (73')

Match Facts:

- The two sides have met a total of 78 times, Crystal Palace winning 25, Reading 30.*

- Reading concede an average of 0.83 goals away from home, scoring 1.17.*

- Crystal Palace score an average of 1.33 goals at home, conceding 0.83.*

- Reading haven't scored less than 3 goals against Palace since 2009 when Palace won 4-2, this was Palace's last victory over Reading.

- Palace have only failed to score in one game at home this season, Middlesbrough edging out the Eagles 1-0.

* This excludes cup fixtures and pre-season friendlies.

My prediction:

Crystal Palace 2-2 Reading

Zaha                       Le Fondre (2)

Murray

Southampton Preview: Tuesday 25th October 2011 (Carling Cup Fourth Round)

Saturday's action...


The Eagles took a trip to Portman Road in the nPower Championship on Saturday and after a run of decent results, they were looking to take on an Ipswich side that were also enjoying a good start to the season.
Things almost got off to a catastrophic start for The Tractor Boys as Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha's near post cross was almost turned into the net by Ipswich's Delaney. The Tractor Boys have been strong at the top of the pitch and after a goal mouth scramble Leadbitter's shot was cleared away by the Eagles defence. The defence still not conceding, which has been the case in their last two games. Lee Bowyer got his head on a fine cross but was well wide of Speroni's goal.
Palace were next to pile on some pressure, Glenn Murray finding himself in the box from a corner but was kept out by Ipswich 'keeper Stockdale. Ipswich's Jay Emmanuel Thomas fired from around 25-30 yards out but Speroni rose well to beat the shot away to end the first half, leaving Ipswich on a high.
The Eagles took the start of the second half in their stride, Jonathan Parr's cross to the far post found Glenn Murray who rose well above the defender, his header just over the crossbar.
The breakthrough, and only goal of the game, came when Sean Scannell's free kick was rebounded back at him, his second cross found skipper Paddy McCarthy who did well to turn his outside-of-the-boot flick into the roof of the net. Scannell, who was in fine form, began a wondrous run in his own half taking it past a couple of defenders before his shot was blocked.
Ipswich didn't give up, but Keith Andrews' shot flew well wide of the goal. JET's free kick, which looked like a cross, almost reached the top corner of Speroni's goal, but once again the Argentinian stepped up to make a fine save.
The game ended on a downer for Ipswich as defender Cresswell was sent off. Palace's third win on the bounce, and third away win on the trot. The Eagles jump to third in the table, Ipswich falling to ninth.

Team News
Crystal Palace defenders Lee Hills (knee ligament), Peter Ramage (groin) and Aleksander Tunchev (knock) will miss the fixture with Southampton on Tuesday night, as will Darren Ambrose after he also picked up a knock against Bristol City last week. Owen Garvan will hope to appear as he recovers from a knee injury.

Southampton have announced that 16 year old James Ward-Prowse will make his debut against Crystal Palace in the Carling Cup fourth round on Tuesday night, "He is a first year apprentice at Southampton's famed academy which has produced Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale & Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain". Ex-Eagle defender Jose Fonte will miss out against his old club with a hamstring problem, to be replaced by Aaron Martin. Goalkeeper Kelvin Davis will be replaced by second choice keeper Bartosz Bialkowski, the club has announced.

Preview
The Eagles play host to league leaders Southampton on Tuesday night, but it's not league points up for grabs this week, it's a coveted spot in the quarter-finals of the League Cup. Crystal Palace have played all three of their last cup fixtures at home, beating League Two leaders Crawley Town in the first round, Premier League strugglers Wigan Athletic and Championship title contenders Middlesbrough. Southampton have faced off against League Two sides Torquay United and Swindon Town, as well as edging out League One promotion chasers Preston North End. It's worth mentioning that Southampton have been scoring less goals as the cup run has progressed, their first victory was a staggering 4-1 over Torquay, followed by 3-1 (Swindon) and 2-1 (Preston). They have also conceded in every cup game so far, Crystal Palace conceding just two in the cup this season and are on a streak of three clean sheets in a row at the moment.
The sides have not met in this competition in almost exactly nineteen years; the game on the 28th October 1992 saw Palace over come Southampton 2-0 at St Mary's, first half goals from Eddie McGoldrick and John   Salako saw The Eagles through to the next round.
With Palace's current league form at a high, manager Dougie Freedman will be keen to take on the Championship leaders to show that his side are a force to be reckoned with this season. Southampton have been playing second-string sides so far in the cup and show no signs of changing that as they select youngster James Ward-Prowse and second choice keeper Bialkowski to face The Eagles.
Ones to watch for the Eagles in this one are Wilfried Zaha and Jonathan Williams who have both played exceptionally well when called upon, Zaha claiming five goals so far this season, one of which was a wonder strike against Watford last weekend. Williams has provided a goal himself and also played a vital part in the opener against West Ham. The young Welshman has been called up for the U-21s and first team for his country, no full caps but definitely a Welsh Wizard.

My CPFC line-up

Price

Clyne                   McCarthy               Gardner               Parsons

Wright         Jedinak

Zaha                         Williams                   Scannell

Pedroza

Subs: Speroni, Caprice, Moxey, O'Keefe, Dikgacoi Ambrose, Murray

Southampton's last six:

D-W-D-W-L-D

Last time out:

Monday 13th April 2009

So'ton 1-0 Crystal Palace

McGoldrick (67')

Match Facts:

- The two sides have met a total of 69 times, just 5 in this competition, each side winning twice, with one draw.

- Crystal Palace's home record against So'ton is good, only losing one out of the last six, two wins, three draws.

- Southampton have only lost away from home twice this season and are unbeaten at home.

- Crystal Palace have lost just 2 of the last 29 home fixtures in the league cup, and 4 of the last 41.

- Southampton have a prolific goal scorer in the form of Rickie Lambert who has netted 11 goals so far this season, 9 in the league and 2 in the cup.

- Crystal Palace are evenly spread with goalscorers, Wilfried Zaha with five, Glenn Murray 4, Scannell and Ambrose 3 with several other players on 2 and 1 goal(s) each.

My prediction:

Crystal Palace 2-2 So'ton

C Palace win 4-2 on penalties

Zaha                       Lambert

Scannell                  Connolly

Ipswich Town Preview: Saturday 22nd October 2011 (League)

Tuesday's Action...
Crystal Palace played host to rock-bottom Bristol City on Tuesday night. Bristol were without a win in eight games, however Palace do have a record of letting teams who are struggling, over come their best efforts. Doncaster Rovers edged out The Eagles 1-0 at the Keepmoat a few weeks ago and Scunthorpe United were without an away win for quite some time last season, until they managed to put two past Speroni at Selhurst Park in February. So there was definitely a large proportion of the 11,000 fans that came to watch the game that were nervous and edgy come kick off.
Once again, Wilfried Zaha played another fine attacking game and put the pressure on The Robins early with a few step overs to beat his man before sending a shot whizzing past David James' right hand post. Zaha then received a pass from Glenn Murray before setting himself up to test James, forcing a great save before the defenders cleared the danger. The Eagles continued to attack and when a free kick opportunity arose, for once, Ambrose did not step up. Defensive midfielder David Wright stepped forward, forcing James into a low diving save at the near post. Ambrose, however, did get a chance on goal, David James coming out of his penalty area, gifted the ball to Ambrose but his shot at an open goal from far out, was just over the crossbar.
After the break, City seemed to find their feet and Jamal Campbell-Ryce found Damion Stewart who rose well from the corner, his headed effort just wide of the far post. But Palace were soon on the attack again, Sean Scannell darting into the City half, before laying off Wilfried Zaha who beat the keeper, but his goal was ruled out for a much disputed offside. Some say it was Glenn Murray offside and that the linesman jumped to conclusions of where the ball was going to go. Others say Zaha was offside and there is no footage yet that will justify the true story.
The Eagles did eventually get a break through. Jonathan Williams darted into the box and once again there is much dispute over the decision but no real footage to decide whether it was a penalty or not, but Williams went down in the box and a penalty was awarded. Glenn Murray stepped up to claim his fourth of the season, but still held the five on his forehead, maybe on Saturday Glenn? The match finished 1-0, putting Crystal Palace up to fifth, but only by goal difference as they are on equal points with Derby County and Middlesbrough, who fill the two slots above them. Bristol City still prop up the table, with just six points in twelve games.

Team News:


Crystal Palace  picked up a few new injuries in the last game, loanee Aleksander Tunchev took a knock, as well as Ambrose (foot) and Ramage (groin) who was subbed just before half time against Bristol. Moxey missed the last two games with the flu but may be fit by Saturday. Of course, Lee Hills is still a long term absentee.

Ipswich Town: Defender Ibrahima Sonko is doubtful for the Town after coming off an hour into their victory over Pompey on Tuesday night "nicking" his hamstring as manager Paul Jewell put it.

Preview:
The Eagles rose to fifth after a narrow victory over bottom side Bristol City in the midweek fixture and will be hoping for a more convincing win over play-off place pals Ipswich Town when they take a trip to Portman Road on Saturday. The Blues sit just below The Eagles as the two sides prop up the play off spots.
Looking back at recent fixtures, will make this game all the more difficult to call. With Ipswich doing the double over Palace last season with both games ending 2-1 to Town and Palace doing the same to them the season before but with one extra goal (3-1 in both games for you non-math whizzes) the only season this game may be judged on is the one that predates these. Ipswich beat Palace 4-1 at Selhurst Park and then The Eagles fought hard for a 1-1 draw at Portman Road. Overall the sides have met in the same league consecutively a total of 12 times, all since Palace's season in the top flight. Crystal Palace have won five of these meetings, as have Ipswich. This means that with both teams doing the double over each other in the past two seasons, beating each other the same amount of times in the last 12 games, being a mere six goals apart in the table, (credit to The Posh for beating Town 7-1 by the way) even the top goalscorers of both clubs are on the same amount, not even that German octopus could call this one!

My CPFC line-up:

Speroni

Clyne            McCarthy               Gardner                  Parr

Wright

Zaha                      Garvan                  Ambrose

Murray            Scannell

Subs: Price, Parsons, Williams, Jedinak, Easter

Ipswich's last six:

W-D-W-W-D-W

Last time out:

Ipswich 2-1 Crystal Palace

Carson (38')   McCarthy (73')

Carson (66')  

Match Facts:

- Crystal Palace are on an unbeaten run of four, and a clean sheet run of two.

- Ipswich Town are on an unbeaten run of six, and a clean sheet run of one.

- The two sides have played each other twelve times since Palace's relegation to the Championship, Palace 5-5 Ipswich, with two draws.

- Crystal Palace score an average of 1.5 goals away from home, conceding 1.17.

- Ipswich score an average of 1.83 goals at home, conceding 1.33.

- The highest scoring game recorded between the teams was a 4-4 draw on Christmas Eve 1949.

My Prediction:

Ipswich Town 2-2 Crystal Palace

Chopra (2)            Scannell

                             Zaha

Bristol City Preview: Tuesday 18th October 2011 (League)

Match Report
The Eagles snatched all three points when visiting rivals Brighton after The Seagulls took an early lead, Palace scored three in the last ten minutes, closely followed by a 2-2 draw at home with title favorites West Ham, in which the visitors came from behind twice to gain a point. So they were hoping to build on the recent run of form when they returned from the International Break.
The Eagles paid a visit to 'Golden Boys' Watford on Saturday, this was their first game back from the second International Break this season. Nathaniel Clyne returning from a broken foot started out on the left, with no Moxey, no news on there being any new injuries.
The home side threatened first with new loan signing Michael Kightly forcing a save from Julian Speroni, before Joe Garner hit the woodwork. Wilfried Zaha has hit excellent form for the Eagles and his cross missed Glenn Murray in the box but fell to Scannell, whose effort was saved my Hornets keeper Scott Loach.

After the break, the sides continued fighting but deadlock was broken when David Wright fed Scannell into the Watford half who then sent a through ball onto Zaha on the right side of the 18 yard box. After beating his marker, his first time right footed effort rocketed past Loach and into the top corner of the net.
Jermaine Easter has been an important man for The Eagles this season, his goal against Coventry was one of two in the dying minutes to secure the win. His second of the season came when the ball fell to him deep in the opposition's territory and his right footed strike soared into the other top corner. Loach's corners clearly undefended in this game.
The final whistle blew, final score 0-2, meaning Palace jump from 12th to 8th in the table, with Leeds level on points but with a game in hand. Watford drop two spots to 20th and definitely need to pick up some crucial points.

Team News:
Crystal Palace's injury list has been vastly reduced over the International Break with Nathaniel Clyne, Owen Garvan and Kagisho Dikcagoi returning from various injuries. The only injury as far as we're aware of is Lee Hills who has been a long term absentee for quite a while but is back in training, although far from being fully fit.
Bristol City's excluded players are: Louis Carey (knee) and Jon Stead but David Clarkson returns from his loan spell at Brentford. Former England No.1 David James replaced Gerken in goal for The Robins on Saturday. This was just one of several changes that caretaker boss Steve Wigley made at the weekend, when they lost to Peterborough 2-1.

Preview:
With a run of three games unbeaten, Crystal Palace face rock-bottom Bristol City on Tuesday night. The Robins, who haven't won a game since August 17th (ironically this is my mother's birthday) when they beat moneybags Leicester City. This was Bristol's only win of the season. Of course as we all know, Crystal Palace are renowned for giving teams that are struggling, a "leg-up". For example, Doncaster away a few weeks ago. Doncaster hadn't won a game, they sat bottom of the table, showing no signs of improving and then we took our trip up to Keepmoat and they beat us 1-0. Last season, Scunthorpe hadn't won an away game in 2011, we had not lost a home game for 13 games and then they came to Selhurst and won 2-1.
That being said, Selhurst Park has been an almost impenetrable fortress. With only one defeat at home this season (against Middlesbrough who we beat three days later in the cup) the Eagles will fancy their chances. Wilfried Zaha has hit some good form, scoring 5 out of the last ten games, so there's no doubt he'll make an appearance with fellow academy product, Sean Scannell. Scannell has scored 3 goals this season, making him second in the goal scoring ranks in SE25.
The last time these two sides met, the final score was 0-0 so fans will be hoping to see a change in the scoreline. Although with the current record, Crystal Palace will be confident in scoring as they haven't gone a game without scoring when playing at home on a Tuesday night. Bristol, however, didn't score in their last away game, against Blackpool, which they lost 5-0.
My CPFC line-up:

Speroni

Clyne              McCarthy             Tunchev                Moxey

Zaha              Garvan                 Wright                Williams

Scannell

Murray

Subs: Price, Gardner, Parr, Ambrose, Easter

Bristol City's last six:


L-L-L-D-L-L


Last time out:


Crystal Palace 0-0 Bristol City


Match Facts:


- Crystal Palace score an average of 1.4 goals at home, conceding 1

- Bristol City score an average of 1 goal on their travels, conceding 2.4

- The clubs have met a total of 79 times in all competitions, Palace winning 31, Bristol 28

- Crystal Palace have won just two out of the last ten meetings, Bristol have won five.

- The highest scoring game between the sides, of the last ten years, was a 4-2 victory for Palace at Selhurst Park on 22nd November 2008

- Neither side has scored more than one goal against each other since that game

- 67% of Bristol's points have come away from home this season


- Bristol have conceded at least one goal in all away matches this season

My Prediction:


Given previous meetings, I'd say a 1-0 victory to Palace. But going on this season's performances, results and form, I'm going to say:

Crystal Palace 3-0 Bristol City

Zaha (2)
Garvan (pen.)

I'm basing my penalty goal on Bristol City's discipline record this season, 18 yellows in the league, 1 in the cup.