Patrick Vieira has provided a fresh injury update on his squad ahead of their Premier League trip to Carrow Road to face Norwich on Wednesday evening.
The Eagles beat Dean Smith's side 3-0 in the reverse fixture in December when both clubs were suffering from enforced absences due to Covid-19, though this time around both clubs are in better shape in terms of availability.
Speaking to the press on Tuesday morning, Vieira confirmed that Cheikhou Kouyate would be one of the absences for the trip to Norwich after he won the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal on the weekend.
The Palace boss told reporters he was proud of Kouyate and Senegal for their achievement and wasn't expecting his midfielder back for the visit to East Anglia.
Vieria also revealed that full-back Nathan Ferguson would not be available for selection after he picked up a small injury.
The knock isn't currently expected to be a long-term problem for the 21-year-old though the club are taking precautions with Ferguson given his recent return from a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Palace will be boosted by the return of James McArthur and James Tomkins to action though, with both taking part in full training over the last week. McArthur has been out since November with a hamstring tear, while Tomkins has missed the last three games while recovering from a knock.
For Norwich, Dean Smith might not have Josh Sargent available after the forward was taken ill prior to the Canaries' FA Cup match against Wolves on the weekend.
The American international is still feeling the after-affects of that illness and so might miss the Palace game, though the home side will have Lukas Rupp back available for selection.
Norwich are currently on a three-game winning streak, having lifted themselves out of the relegation spaces with Premier League victories over Everton and Norwich before overcoming Wolves 1-0 at Molineux on Saturday.
Palace meanwhile have failed to pick up a league win since their 3-0 win over Norwich in December, with Vieria complimenting Smith for how he's improved his side since taking the job two months ago.
“He brings a new dynamic in the team, and the players have responded really well with what he wants," said the Frenchman.
“They have been doing really well in the last couple of games and we’ll face a team who are playing with confidence, but I believe we have what we need to make it really difficult for them. At the same time, we have to play with belief and confidence and try to impose ourselves.”
Vieira also pinpointed what he thinks the Eagles need to take from their last encounter with Norwich into Wednesday's game.
"I think what was really good in that game is that we scored in a really important time and every chance that we had we scored goals," he added.
"We were really clinical in front of goals. And that was something that we need to be more consistent in. I think we create a lot of chances but we don't score enough."
