Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Football London
Football London
Sport
Joe Doyle

Crystal Palace team news as Ebere Eze benched, Tyrick Mitchell in for Patrick van Aanholt

Ebere Eze is out of the Crystal Palace starting XI for the Premier League clash against Leicester City, with Roy Hodgson making five changes to the side that lost at Aston Villa on Boxing Day.

Vicente Guaita starts in goal for Palace, with three changes in defence as Nathaniel Clyne comes in at right-back, James Tomkins replaces Scott Dann at centre-back and Tyrick Mitchell is back in at left-back.

In midfield, Andros Townsend replaces Ebere Eze on the wing, with Jeff Schlupp moving from the right to the left flank, while Jairo Riedewald is in for James McArthur in the centre of midfield alongside Luka Milivojevic.

Fans' Footballer of the Year

In attack, Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke will hope the changes provide them with more attacking opportunities than they received against Wolves.

Hodgson said after the defeat to Aston Villa that there would not be wholesale changes to the team after back-to-back losses, despite strong competition for places.

"There will not be a lot of changes,” Hodgson told reporters. "There aren’t really teams who have got two first elevens that they can play.

"Luckily enough, we do have some players who can knock on my door and say: 'What about me? When will I get a chance?'.

"That’s a good thing, of course, but to [the question of] wholesale changes: no. A lot of the players who played today are going to have to go again."

However, the manager has decided to rest a number of players with just 46 hours separating full-time against Aston Villa and kick-off at Selhurst Park.

Leicester also make a number of changes, with Jamie Vardy and James Maddison dropping to the bench as Brendan Rodgers chooses to rotate his side.

Crystal Palace XI: Guaita; Clyne, Kouyate, Tomkins, Mitchell; Townsend, Milivojevic, Riedewald, Schlupp; Zaha, Benteke.

Subs: Butland, Ward, Sakho, Van Aanholt, McCarthy, McArthur, Eze, Ayew, Batshuayi.

Leicester XI: Schmeichel; Justin, Amartey, Evans, Thomas; Mendy, Choudhury, Praet; Perez, Barnes, Iheanacho.

Subs: Ward, Morgan, Soyuncu, Fuchs, Ndidi, Tielemans, Albrighton, Gray, Vardy.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.