Sam Allardyce says Yohan Cabaye will miss Crystal Palace vs Arsenal
Thursday 6 April 2017 11:57, UK
Sam Allardyce admits Crystal Palace are "thin on the ground" after losing Yohan Cabaye to injury ahead of their London derby against Arsenal on Monday Night Football.
The France midfielder sustained a calf problem in Palace's 3-1 defeat at Southampton on Wednesday and was replaced at half-time by Bakary Sako.
Cabaye has already been ruled out of the visit of Arsenal to Selhurst Park, live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 7pm, and joins a long list of Palace players currently in the treatment room.
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"Patrick van Aanholt, James Tomkins, Pape Souare, Connor Wickham, Loic Remy and Fraizer Campbell are all injured and now Yohan," Allardyce said.
"We're thin on the ground now. James McArthur may be back for Arsenal, but he's not played a huge amount since his back spasms.
"Joe Ledley is back after birth of his child."
Palace sit just three points clear of the relegation zone following their defeat at St Mary's - a loss that brought their four-game winning run to an end.
Allardyce, who was appointed as Palace boss in December following the sacking of Alan Pardew, has made a name for himself as a survival expert in the Premier League having previously kept Bolton, Blackburn and West Ham in the top flight.
With eight matches remaining in their season, Allardyce admits his Palace side will need to control their nerves if they are to maintain their Premier League status.
"Who can hold their nerve usually decides staying up. You're into single figure games, the bell starts ringing. Time to stand up," he said.
"It's not "arguably" we've got the hardest run-in, we "have" got the hardest run-in.
"If we hadn't done what we've done [win four games in a row], we'd be dead and buried now. This is tough, particularly mentally. Pressure builds.
"We shouldn't have let that happen last night. We couldn't find the passing movement we found at Chelsea or West Brom to exploit counters.
"We've proven on any given day we can beat anyone. That gives us confidence. But it's just as tough to beat Burnley as it is United."
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