Michy Batshuayi goes straight into contention to feature for Crystal Palace against Fulham on Saturday after his arrival on loan from Chelsea.

The Belgian striker joined Palace on loan from Chelsea on Deadline Day, and his potential availability strengthens Palace's attacking options, with the influential Wilfried Zaha suspended after his red card at Southampton.

"It will give the players a boost and more importantly our fans a boost, to have a player with a proven goalscoring record," said Palace boss Roy Hodgson of the forward.

Hodgson, 71, will delay leaving the club's training ground to meet Batshuayi for the first time, and while Zaha is suspended against Fulham and Cheikhou Kouyate is ruled out with an ankle injury, he is confident James Tomkins will have recovered from a knock.

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"We have seen Wilf react (for his red card on Wednesday at Southampton), but he wears his heart on his sleeve and he has a strong sense of justice and injustice," the Palace manager said. "But he has to learn from this and to control his emotions.

"I hope he won't get an extension to the ban (he faces a charge of improper conduct). We can only hope that the people who make those decisions will empathise with the player. His record in those terms has been pretty reasonable.

"He was sent off something like seven years ago. He is not a perennial bad boy. I would like to think people would take what happened into consideration, with provocation (from James Ward-Prowse)."

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Team news

Zaha is suspended for the hosts after his red card at Southampton, while Kouyate misses out with an ankle injury, but Tomkins is expected to be passed fit following a knock.

As for the visitors, full-back Joe Bryan is a doubt for the game after limping off during Tuesday's 4-2 victory over Brighton and may force manager Claudio Ranieri to change a winning team.

Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa is in contention to return, having returned to training following injury, while Aboubakar Kamara has left on loan for Turkish club Yeni Malatyaspor.

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Opta stats

• Palace haven't hosted Fulham in the Premier League since October 2013, when the Cottagers won 4-1 in Ian Holloway's final match in charge of Palace
• Fulham have only lost one of their last 11 away league matches against Crystal Palace (W5 D5), losing 0-2 in a Premier League game in October 2004
• Palace have won just four of their last 28 Premier League London derbies (D5 L19), with one of those in the reverse fixture against Fulham this season
• Palace have won only two of their last 11 Premier League home games (D3 L6)
• Defeat here would see Fulham become the first team in top-flight history to lose eight consecutive London derby matches
• Only Huddersfield (5) have scored fewer home goals than Crystal Palace in the Premier League this season (6). However, Fulham have shipped a league-high 30 away goals

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Charlie's predictions

It shows you Ranieri's personality within the team - he is prepared to say that Mitrovic is a bit rough and ready, but he is a handful with 10 league goals and if they give him the right service with the right people playing… I do not know why he does not play Cairney more? I know he is not that great when they do not have the ball, but nor is Hazard or Ozil and these guys have been big-reputation players. And I would rather get the guys on the ball who can make things happen, rather than have guys worrying about their defensive duties.

But again, Palace find it hard at home to score goals and break teams down. Away from home, they are a different proposition altogether. But I think Ranieri is feeling something and is on the edge of getting them right back in the mix of things again and Mitrovic will be a real handful again.

CHARLIE PREDICTS: 1-2 (Sky Bet odds: 12/1)

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