Ahead of Roy Hodgson’s 200th Premier League game as Palace boss, we’ve got the Crystal Palace and Chelsea team news.
The two London sides meet at Selhurst Park under the lights on Monday Night Football. The game is Hodgson’s 200th Premier League game in charge of Palace, but it comes under a cloud of pressure from Palace fans.
Speaking ahead of the game, Hodgson said:
“[Fans] are the people that we cannot afford to have turned against us, because we need them.
“It’s been the toughest period of my career for one reason, and that is that the fans have turned so much against us.
“If we’re going to win the games, and this team is going to do well, they’re not going to be able to do it if the fans are going to be constantly up in arms about everything that’s happening.
“Apart from that, it joins a lot of other periods of my life where I’ve been happier and more content, of course.”
Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football panel discussed the current situation ar Palace.
“They want to feel like the club have ambition” 😬
.@carra23 says he can understand why Crystal Palace fans are frustrated 👇 pic.twitter.com/a9AAeXP8aU
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 12, 2024
His opposite number, Mauricio Pochettino, is also under pressure, especially given the money the club have spent in recent windows.
Speaking to the media, he asked for people to be patient with him and his young team:
“I’m not picking the team because they are young.
“I don’t want to be the coach that picks the youngest team in England.
“We are a young team. We have a good balance. Thiago Silva who is 39, we have Raheem Sterling (29), we have (Christopher) Nkunku (26), and (Axel) Disasi (25). The problem is not that they are young. The problem is that the team is young.
“We had (many) players that arrived new at the beginning of the season. You need to build a team.”
Crystal Palace Team News
As expected for Palace, their two creative sparks are missing this evening. Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze are both out injured and will be big misses for the hosts.
Marc Guéhi is the latest addition to Hodgson’s injury concerns. His presence will be missed at the back against a strong Chelsea side.
Adam Wharton, who signed from Blackburn Rovers in the January window, makes his first Premier League start for his new club.
Crystal Palace starting line up – Henderson, Muñoz, Andersen, Richards, Mitchell, Lerma, A Wharton, J Ayew, Hughes, França de Oliveira, Mateta
Chelsea Team News
Chelsea made sure they were in the next round of the FA Cup by beating Aston Villa at Villa Park in their replay.
From that side, Poch has made just one change, with Thiago Silva coming back into the 11. He replaces the injured Benoit Badiashile.
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino says it was not a difficult decision to bring Thiago Silva back into the line up 🗣 pic.twitter.com/6us2Ylo0yZ
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 12, 2024
Chelsea starting line-up – Petrovic, Gusto, Disasi, Silva, Chilwell, Fernandez, Caicedo, Gallagher, Palmer, Madueke, Jackson.
The Crystal Palace and Chelsea team news suggests we’re in for a good clash at Selhurst Park.
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