Wilfried Zaha has come through a late fitness test and starts for Crystal Palace against Arsenal tonight, with Patrick Vieria making three changes to his starting XI for the visit of the Gunners.
Both Zaha and Michael Olise's involvement in tonight's match was uncertain after the pair returned from international duty with injuries. Zaha suffered a reported hamstring issue that kept him out of the Elephants' friendly with England at Wembley, while Olise returned home early from France Under-21 duty due to a problem with his foot. Both were assessed by Palace at the club over the weekend, with Zaha fit enough for a spot in the starting XI while Olise isn't available.
The disruption to the forward line means Vieira has chosen to play Jordan Ayew in Olise's spot on the right side with Jean-Philippe Mateta in the middle. Ayew is starting a match for the Eagles for just the third time since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations with Ghana.
READ MORE: Crystal Palace vs Arsenal LIVE: Kick-off time, TV channel, team news, live stream details
In goal, Vicente Guaita makes his 25th appearance of the season between the sticks. He plays in front of the usual centre-back pairing of Joachim Andersen and Marc Guehi, with the latter capping an excellent March by winning the Palace player of the month award last week. Andersen is making his 30th appearance of the season tonight and is fresh from featuring in both of Denmark’s recent friendlies against the Netherlands and Serbia.
Tyrick Mitchell starts at left-back once again after making his England debut last week against Switzerland and starting in the 3-0 win over Ivory Coast at Wembley. Nathaniel Clyne keeps his place at right-back ahead of Joel Ward, who due to injury hasn’t featured for the Eagles since the 0-0 draw away at Brentford in February.
In midfield, Vieira has kept faith in the same midfield trio that performed so well in previous league matches against Wolves and Manchester City. Cheikhou Kouyate starts at the base of the three, with Conor Gallagher and Jeffrey Schlupp playing just ahead of him. Ebere Eze played impressed when playing instead of the suspended Schlupp in the FA Cup quarter-final win over Everton last time out but settles for a spot on the bench tonight.
James McArthur joins Eze and Ward on the Palace bench having both come through fitness tests to return to the matchday squad following injury. Jack Butland, James Tomkins, Will Hughes, Odsonne Edouard, Luka Milivojevic and Christian Benteke complete the substitutes bench.
Crystal Palace XI: Guaita, Mitchell, Guehi, Andersen, Clyne, Kouyate, Schlupp, Gallagher, Zaha, Mateta, Ayew.
Bench: Butland, Tomkins, Ward, Hughes, Milivojevic, McArthur, Edouard, Eze, Benteke.
