Crystal Palace v Burnley
Venue: Selhurst Stadium
Kick off: 5:30PM
Crystal Palace will be forced into a defensive reshuffle for their home match against Burnley on Saturday (today).
The Eagles will be without Liverpool loanee Mamadou Sakho after he was taken off on a stretcher with a knee injury during the 1-0 midweek defeat to Tottenham.
Fellow centre-backs James Tomkins and Scott Dann are also out, meaning Sam Allardyce is likely to select Martin Kelly and Damien Delaney at the heart of his defence.
“Under normal circumstances it would have been a crisis at this club and most clubs I have been at I would have been playing full-backs or midfielders at centre-half,” said Allardyce.
“But we have Martin Kelly and Damien Delaney to fill those slots. They have played together a lot and have a lot of experience.”
Sakho has been a key player for the Eagles as they have pulled clear of the relegation zone with six wins from their last nine matches.
Sam Allardyce refused to speculate on the seriousness of Mamadou Sakho’s injury
They start the weekend seven points above the bottom three, while Burnley are just five points clear, having won just once since the start of February.
“We have more points than we did ever in the Premier League and it’s now about taking it all the way,” said manager Sean Dyche.
“It’s now about everything we’ve learned over the season and delivering performances in these last four games.”
Crystal Palace has gone 10 league games unbeaten against Burnley on home soil, keeping seven clean sheets in the process.
Burnley has won just four points from a possible 51 away from home in the Premier League this season, just as they have lost 13 of their 15 visits to London.
Crystal Palace Possible XI: Hennessey, Ward, Delaney, Kelly, Aanholt, Cabaye, Milivojevic, Puncheon, Zaha, Benteke, Townsend.
Burnley Possible XI: Heaton, Lowton, Keane, Mee, Ward, Boyd, Hendrick, Defour, Brady, Barnes, Gray.