Patrick Vieira has provided a fresh injury update on his Crystal Palace squad ahead of their Premier League clash with Southampton this weekend at St Mary’s Stadium.
The Eagles are hoping to pick up their first win in four matches, having suffered three defeats in a row against Leicester, Chelsea and Newcastle before drawing 0-0 with Leeds at Selhurst Park on Monday night. The Saints currently sit one place above Palace in the Premier League table in 13th, though Vieria ’s side would leapfrog them with a victory on the south coast and could rise as high as 11th if results go their way.
The two sides played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in south London back in December, with James Ward-Prowse and Armando Broja both netting stunning goals to cancel out Wilfried Zaha’s early opener before Jordan Ayew levelled the game in the second half. Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side have impressed at times this season but have also shown they’re liable to capitulate, with Chelsea’s 6-0 win at St Mary’s earlier this month still fresh in their minds.
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Thankfully for Vieira, he’ll have an almost full squad of players to select from for the trip to Southampton, with only Nathan Ferguson unavailable for the game. The young full-back has endured an injury nightmare since he arrived in south London almost two years ago, making just one senior appearance during that time following repeated setbacks on his road to recovery. His latest injury picked up in February was initially set to see him on the sidelines for around six weeks, though he remains unavailable after taking another setback in his recovery.
Club captain Luka Milivojevic was unavailable for selection until recently after he got injured in the latter stages of Palace’s FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea at Wembley earlier this month. He has since recovered and will be available for selection for Saturday’s clash with the Saints.
Tyrick Mitchell had started every Premier League game of the season up until Monday night’s game against Leeds meanwhile, with Vieira confirming afterwards that the left-back had picked up a knock hence his absence. Mitchell is now back with the team and will be part of the matchday squad to face Southampton.
Joel Ward filled in at left-back against the Whites and impressed in the role, with Nathaniel Clyne operating at right-back and bombing forward to support attacks where necessary. It seems likely at the moment that the pair will continue in those roles against Hasenhuttl’s side, with Vieira not wanting to rush Mitchell back into action following his first injury lay-off of the campaign so far.
