Crystal Palace and Norwich City will lock horns in the Premier League for the first time since April 2016 on Saturday afternoon.
A solid start to the 2019-20 campaign has seen Palace collect eight points from their six matches to sit 12th, while Norwich currently occupy 16th in the table with six points to show from as many games this term.
Match preview
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Two wins, two draws and two defeats – that is how Palace have performed in the Premier League this season. A return of eight points has left them in 12th, but the Eagles are only three points off third-placed Leicester City, and a positive result this weekend would see the capital outfit shoot up the table.
Wilfried Zaha's future was a distraction over the summer, and Palace were left with just one point after their first two Premier League games of the season - following a home draw with Everton with a defeat at Sheffield United.
Roy Hodgson's side recorded their first ever Premier League win over Manchester United in their next game, however, before beating Aston Villa 1-0 on home soil in their final fixture before the September international break.
Palace then lost 4-0 at Tottenham Hotspur on September 14 before picking up a point at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend. All things considered, it has been a solid start to the new season.
The Eagles have a very tough run of matches to come, though, with fixtures against Manchester City, Arsenal, Leicester City, Chelsea and Liverpool very much on the horizon.
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Norwich have posted arguably the outstanding result in this season's Premier League thus far in recording a 3-2 home win over Manchester City on September 14. The Canaries were praised for their strong performance against the champions, although they are only just lingering outside of the bottom three.
Indeed, a total of six points from as many matches has left them in 16th spot – two points above the relegation zone with four defeats thus far. Only basement side Watford (18) have conceded more league goals than Norwich (14) this term, although Palace are the joint-lowest scorers in the division with four goals.
Teemu Pukki has perhaps been the main story for the Canaries this season having managed six goals in six Premier League appearances, and the 29-year-old will be tasked with harming Palace this weekend.
Like Palace, Norwich were knocked out of the EFL Cup in the second round. As a result, Daniel Farke has had a full week to prepare for this clash following last weekend's disappointing 2-0 loss at Burnley.
Last season's Championship winners have impressed against the likes of Man City and Chelsea this season, but Farke will know that his team's chances of avoiding relegation hinge on beating the sides around them.
Crystal Palace form: LWLWLD
Norwich City form: WLLLWL
Team News
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Palace have no fresh injury concerns from the team that featured against Wolves, and it would not be a surprise to see Hodgson opt for the same XI.
Christian Benteke and James McCarthy are two of the players pushing for a spot in the starting side, although it seems likely that Jordan Ayew will continue at the tip of the attack.
The back four and goalkeeper are unlikely to change, while Zaha will go in search of his first goal of the season against the Canaries on Saturday afternoon.
As for Norwich, Timm Klose, Christoph Zimmermann, Onel Hernandez, Tom Trybull and Max Aarons will definitely miss out this weekend, while a number of other players are being assessed.
The Canaries are hopeful that Tim Krul and Alexander Tettey will overcome back and groin problems respectively to make the starting XI, while Ralf Fahrmann could also recover from a groin issue to feature.
Pukki will lead the line for the visitors while Emiliano Buendia and Todd Cantwell should also keep their spots.
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup: Guaita; Ward, Sakho, Cahill, Van Aanholt; Schlupp, Kouyate, Miliveojevic, McArthur, Zaha; Ayew
Norwich City possible starting lineup: Krul; Byram, Amadou, Godfrey, Lewis; Tettey, McLean; Buendia, Stiepermann, Cantwell; Pukki
We say: Crystal Palace 1-1 Norwich City
Palace have won the last two Premier League meetings between the two teams, while Norwich have been victorious in just one of their last nine matches in all competitions. We are finding it difficult to separate the two teams this weekend, though, and fancy a repeat of the 1-1 that occurred at Selhurst Park in January 2014.
Matt Law
