Unavailable:
Crystal Palace – Appiah, Jedinak, Gayle, Sako
Southampton – Forster, Gardoş, Rodriguez
It is now over four years ago since the
moment Alan Pardew was informed by Nicola Cortese that his services were no
longer required in South Hampshire. A largely successful spell followed at
Newcastle (despite the hordes of criticism that rained down on him from the
stands at St James Park), and then in a spiritual homecoming, he moved back
down south to the raucous Selhurst Park. In contrast to their Magpie
adversaries, Eagles fans are more than content to acknowledge what Pardew has
done for their club.
Under the former Saints boss, Palace have
grown into an attractive outfit, and it is remarkable to see the turnaround
which has taken place over the last year. Of course, it was only Boxing Day when
Saints arrived at Selhurst Park to comfortably see their hosts off – it was to
be the final nail in Neil Warnock’s coffin. At that stage, many pundits claimed
that Palace seemed ripe for the drop into the Championship. Yet Pardew had
other ideas – the Eagles are now a well-organised outfit who play to their
counter-attacking strengths with pace and ingenuity which allows them to
thrive.
No
one encapsulates that spirit better than former Saint Jason Puncheon who has
emerged as a dynamic central midfielder. When Pardew signed the former Plymouth
man in January 2010, he was deployed on the right wing. Obviously, he was
talented, however the decision to continuously cut in onto his favoured left
foot was frustrating – particularly in a league where expansive wing play is
imperative in order to slice open the opposition's defence.
This
style of play was far more effective in the Premier League where he slotted
into Mauricio Pochettino's plans perfectly – driving Southampton away from the
perils of relegation. Now back under the stewardship of Pardew once more, he
has switched into a different role. Usually, James McArthur sits in behind
Yohan Cabaye and Puncheon, and these two offensively minded midfielders fire
passes out to either wing for Yannick Bolasie and Wilfried Zaha to accelerate onto.
Unsurprisingly, this fluid game plan is ideal away from Selhurst Park, but
there have been fewer home comforts this season – a fact that will give Ronald
Koeman some hope for the trip to Croydon.
Southampton are stuttering and scrambling around mid-table. The players currently resemble a side who have suffered from the perceived Thursday-Sunday fatigue conundrum – except Saints were knocked out of the Europa League… Perhaps some of the team have forgotten. It appears that there are no genuine targets to aspire to, and that the season is petering out – in December. A kick start is necessary, but any genuine success this season will surely hinge on a possible FA Cup run after Liverpool ruthlessly picked Saints off in the League Cup.
Until that home tie (ironically against Palace), Koeman has to focus his attention on the positives from the Villa match. The strength in depth available to the Saints boss would have been encouraging – Oriol Romeu and Juanmi both starred in half-stirring comeback in the second period, and merit more playing time than they have been given. The regularly criticised James Ward-Prowse also had an impression on the game, and found Romeu for the equaliser.
In
the past, Southampton have struggled in the bleak midwinter, but last season,
Koeman found a formula to banish those Christmas blues. A repeat of that purple
patch would be most welcome now.
Key Battles
Dann
v Pellè: Praise has been lavished upon Scott Dann this campaign – not only for
his strength as a leader in the defence, but also for his goalscoring exploits.
One of the few times that doubts have been voiced about his expertise was after
the Sunderland match when Jermain Defoe pinched the ball of him on the run,
before converting the opportunity in the 1-0 win. Pace therefore could be the
key, but Graziano Pellè is not blessed with great speed. Therefore the Italian
will have to match the centre-back physically, and hold the ball up well before
attempting any of his elaborate trademark flicks.
Cabaye v Wanyama: The Kenya captain has been under fire of late after a couple of substandard performances, but will no doubt turn out for this one after being passed fit. These negative reviews are somewhat unfair though, as the midfielder is evidently struggling with the different partners that he has been paired with this term, after two consecutive seasons with Morgan Schneiderlin in the engine room. Part of the challenge is born out of the fact that Jordy Clasie occupies a different role to his predecessor, and it appears that the Dutchman is struggling for form and confidence. Wanyama must strangulate the influence of Cabaye on proceedings. Palace's summer marquee signing has been reinvigorated since his return to England after an indifferent spell at PSG. If he is restricted, the hosts' creative powers will be limited.
Possible Line-ups
Crystal Palace: Hennessey – Ward, Dann, Delaney (C),
Souaré – McArthur, Cabaye, Puncheon – Zaha, Wickham, Bolasie
McCarthy,
Bamford, Campbell, Mutch, Ledley, Chamakh, Kelly
Southampton: Stekelenburg – Soares, Fonte (C), Van
Dijk, Bertrand – Romeu, Wanyama – S. Davis, Mané, Tadić – Pellè
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