Crystal Palace will climb out of the relegation zone if they beat Watford at Selhurst Park on Tuesday night.
Roy Hodgson’s side slipped back to the foot of the table at the weekend, when they were held to a 2-2 draw by Bournemouth. It was another frustrating afternoon for the Eagles, who were once again unable to collect maximum points despite being the better side for the vast majority of the encounter. While there were elements of bad fortune to Palace dropping two points, the biggest culprit was striker Christian Benteke, who defied management orders to take a penalty in second-half stoppage instead of regular taker Luka Milivojevic, before proceeding to miss the spot-kick with an incredibly tame effort. Still waiting for his first goal of the season, the incident will have done little to boost the Belgian’s confidence ahead of this midweek meeting with Watford.
Marco Silva’s men were defeated 1-0 by Burnley at the weekend, with Marvin Zeegelaar sent off in the first half at Turf Moor. That early dismissal was always going to make life difficult for the Hornets, who struggled to play their normal game with a man disadvantage and were duly beaten thanks to Scott Arfield’s strike. Watford still find themselves in an excellent position as the midway point of the campaign approaches, however, with Silva’s side sitting pretty in ninth place with 22 points from 16 matches. They also remain one of the stronger teams in the division away from home, having won half of their eight games on their travels.
Mamadou Sakho was taken off in the first half of Saturday’s clash and could therefore sit this one out, while Joel Ward will have to be assessed after sustaining a groin strain last week; elsewhere, Lee Chung-yong remains sidelined with a muscle problem and Connor Wickham (knee) is a long-term absentee. Watford, meanwhile, will have to make do without Kiko Femenia (muscle), Will Hughes (hamstring), Stefano Okaka (calf), Isaac Success (knee), Nathaniel Chalobah (knee), Craig Cathcart (knee) and Tommie Hoban (knee), while Miguel Britos could miss out with a knock.
Palace have drawn five of their last seven Premier League encounters, so another stalemate could be on the cards at Selhurst Park on Tuesday.
