Due to the quick turnaround of games, this can be a time of year where many Premier League managers opt to change their team around to keep things fresh.
However, Roy Hodgson doesn’t have much scope to do this with his Crystal Palace team, as they face Southampton, following their Boxing Day victory against West Ham United.
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BBC Sport has named Christian Benteke, Scott Dann, Gary Cahill, Joel Ward, Andros Townsend and Jeffrey Schlupp among those on their injury list, which means Hodgson has a very limited hand.
With that in mind, this is FFC’s predicted XI for Crystal Palace’s match against Southampton, which features two changes from the Boxing Day win.
Vicente Guaita naturally keeps his place in goal for Palace, having made himself the undisputed first-choice, starting 17 games this season.
The defence has been hit especially hard by injuries, with Cahill and Dann among those who are out, so Martin Kelly, James Tomkins and Mamadou Sakho all keep their places in the team.
An injury at left-back has forced the only change in the backline, as Patrick van Aanholt is replaced by Jairo Riedewald, who came on for him in the 65th minute against the Hammers to make a match-saving intervention.
Luka Milivojevic and James McArthur both keep their places in the Eagles’ starting lineup following the West Ham win.
Did he really play for us?! No Palace fan has managed to name all of these obscure Eagles signings….
Cheikhou Kouyate has been omitted from this team, as he has been suffering from pain in his groin. Even though the Senegal international has said he will “keep going” it could be wise to leave him out of this one, with James McCarthy coming into the midfield.
Wilfried Zaha is one of the first names on the team sheet, having made 19 appearances this season, so stays in the team, along with Jordan Ayew, who scored the winner against West Ham in eye-catching fashion.
The Boxing Day match was Max Meyer’s first league start since the second game of the season, and he could add another start here.
In other news, FFC has suggested that one player’s industrious performance should make Hodgson take notice.
