Alan Pardew urges Crystal Palace strikers to impress against Leicester

Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew has challenged the club's out-of-favour strikers to make the most of a rare opportunity this weekend.

Fraizer Campbell and Patrick Bamford are set to compete for a starting place against Leicester on Sunday.

Palace are without usual first-choice striker Dwight Gayle, who is suspended, as well as Marouane Chamakh and Connor Wickham, who are both out with injury.

Bamford is yet to make an impression since arriving at Selhurst Park on loan from Chelsea at the start of the season, but Pardew has urged the 22 year-old, along with Campbell, to try to stake a claim for a regular starting place.

"I certainly feel this week is an opportunity for strikers to make a case," said Pardew. "Gayle misses one game so he comes back for Man City and Man United.

"Therefore that leaves me with two natural strikers here, Fraizer Campbell and Patrick Bamford, with Chamakh and Wickham both being injured. Whether I play two of them or one of them, it looks to me like one of them will feature for sure."

Pardew also revealed that Palace have turned to technology in a bid to nurse Chamakh back to full fitness.

The 31-year-old hasn't featured for the club since injuring his hamstring at the end of last season.

"This time we have spent a lot of money on a machine that measures the strength of your hamstring to have it in house," said Pardew. "We used to have it out of house but we felt that that wasn't good enough for a player of his [Chamakh's] quality.

"We purchased one ourselves and it means he can strengthen his hamstring every day and with every opportunity that he gets because we do believe that's the key.

"One of his hamstrings was certainly less powerful than the other for a period last year, and this year the measure is a lot more even."