THE GAME

Crystal Palace vs Saints
Premier League
Selhurst Park
Sunday 29 December 3:00pm GMT

THE OFFICIALS

Referee: Michael Salisbury
Assistants: Scott Ledger, Derek Eaton
Fourth official: Darren Bond
VAR: Graham Scott
Assistant VAR: Akil Howson

WHAT IS AT STAKE?

It is the first away game as Saints coach for Ivan Jurić, who will look to convert the positive results of the Boxing Day defeat against West Ham into points in the second half of the season.

His side are nine points behind safety, but a series of results can quickly change things in the Premier League, especially if you take those points away from rivals like Crystal Palace.

Palace sit in 16th place with 17 points but have seen an upturn in their form over the last month, losing just one of their last seven points.

What equipment will the Saints wear?

The Saints will wear their yellow and navy away kit on the trip to south London.

TEAM NEWS

With Jack Stephens returning from suspension and teammate Will Smallbone almost fit again after injury, manager Jurić said he would look to “make some changes” ahead of Sunday’s trip to the capital.

“In order to play with high intensity, we have to be fit,” said the manager. “We saw some changes from Lesley (Ugochukwu) and Paul (Onuachu) (against West Ham) and they did very well.”

THE MANAGERS

Oliver Glasner: “I think what we can do better: Especially when we win the ball, sometimes we lose it too easily. On the first or second pass the ball is gone again.

“But the team works so hard and invests so much and (we want) to just make it a little easier for them on the pitch, give us more moments, more momentum, a little more calm. “That’s what we’re working on and that will be against Southampton be important.”

Ivan Jurić: “I watched them a lot because the Crystal Palace coach is one of the coaches I like to watch because he plays 3-4-3. I think they have very good strikers, are fast and play well.”

“But I am very confident that we can play a good game. When I look at the game against Fulham and today, I think our team can compete. There are a lot of things to improve, a lot of details that we can do better, but in these two games I saw that my team can compete; We’re not too far away from other teams.”

TOP GOALS

Crystal Palace

Goals:
Jean Philippe Mateta 7
Sarr, Eze 4
Guéhi, Muñoz, Nketiah, Chalohbah 2

Supports:
Mitchell, Eze 3
Sarr, Mateta, Hughes, Muñoz, Kamada 2
Six players 1

Southampton

Goals:
Cameron Archer 5
Armstrong, Harwood-Bellis 3
Aribo, Fernandes, Bree 2

Supports:
Mateus Fernandes 3
Dibling, Walker-Peters, Lallana, Taylor 2
Armstrong, Sugawara, Kamaldeen 1

ONE TO WATCH

Ismaila Sarr: With three goals in his last three games, the 26-year-old is certainly in form this festive period.

The attacking midfielder hopes to maintain these numbers in the new year as Oliver Glasner’s side look to continue their upturn in form.

Paul Onuachu: The striker returned to the starting lineup in Jurić’s first game and became the focal point of the new attacking style.

Although he failed to convert on Boxing Day, the sheer volume of chances Onuachu created suggests promising signs if he manages to make a strong run for the team. Add to that his impressive heist game and you have a player worth watching.

HEAD TO HEAD

Played: 182
Crystal Palace: 43
Draws: 25
Saints: 49

LAST FIVE MEETINGS

April 2023: Saints 0-2 Crystal Palace
January 2023: Crystal Palace 1-2 Saints (Ward-Prowse, A.Armstrong) FA Cup
October 2022: Crystal Palace 1-0 Saints
April 2022: Saints 1-2 Crystal Palace (Romeu)
December 2021: Crystal Palace 2-2 Saints (Ward-Prowse, Broja)

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