Crystal Palace vs Norwich City; Premier League
Crystal Palace vs Norwich City. Premier League.
Selhurst ParkAttendance25,477.
Crystal Palace vs Norwich preview
Watch match highlights at 5.15pm on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app
Friday 27 September 2019 17:55, UK
Team news, key stats and predictions ahead of Crystal Palace vs Norwich in the Premier League.
Team news
Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson could have Connor Wickham back in his squad. The forward has not played since the Carabao Cup second-round penalty shoot-out defeat to Colchester on August 27 because of an ankle problem, but returned to first-team training this week.
James Tomkins will also hope to feature against Norwich after playing an hour for the U23s on Monday against QPR on his return from a groin injury suffered in April.
Norwich goalkeeper Tim Krul is set to be out with a back problem, but defender Max Aarons will travel with the squad after recovering from an ankle injury.
Goalkeeper Ralf Fahrmann (groin) will also be monitored, so Northern Ireland international Michael McGovern is on standby. Alex Tettey picked up a minor groin problem in the defeat at Burnley, so is not involved.
Mario Vrancic (calf), Tom Trybull (ankle), Onel Hernandez (knee), Christoph Zimmermann (foot) and Timm Klose (knee) all continue their rehabilitation.
How to watch
Follow the action with our dedicated live blog. Highlights of the game will be publisheat 5.15pm on the Sky Sports website and app plus the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel.
Opta stats
- Crystal Palace and Norwich City last faced in the Premier League in 2015-16, with the Eagles completing a double over the Canaries.
- Norwich are winless in their last 15 away league matches against Crystal Palace (W0 D5 L10) since winning 1-0 in the second-tier in May 1996 under Gary Megson.
- In every Premier League season that Crystal Palace and Norwich have met, at least one of the sides has been relegated - Palace in 1992-93, both sides in 1994-95 and 2004-05, and Norwich in 2013-14 and 2015-16.
- Norwich are winless in their last 19 Premier League away games in London (W0 D6 L13); should they fail to win this match, they will be the seventh team to go 20 games without an away Premier League win in the capital and the first since Leicester City in 2015.
- Norwich have lost 12 of their last 13 away Premier League games (W1 D0 L12), scoring only three goals across those 13 matches.
- Crystal Palace are unbeaten in their last five home Premier League games (W2 D3). However, Selhurst Park has seen a joint league-low three goals scored this season among all Premier League grounds.
Charlie's prediction
I have talked for a while about Norwich. They are a good watch, with goals in them, but are a mismatch at the back. There is an aura of unpredictability about them. Crystal Palace do not score a lot of goals, but then again they should have nicked it last week against Wolves. It is time for Wilfried Zaha to get going and get his finger out.
Gary Cahill has improved them but they do not have the runners or bodies through midfield. Roy Hodgson's side should still have enough to come away from this one with three points, though.
CHARLIE PREDICTS: 1-0 (8/1 with Sky Bet)
Fantasy Football tip
Charlie Nicholas thinks that Gary Cahill (£7.8m) has 'improved' Crystal Palace's defence, but can he keep out the high-flying Teemu Pukki?
