Crystal Palace will be looking to move closer to the top half of the Premier League table when they welcome relegation-threatened Ipswich Town to Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon.
Victory for the Eagles will see them complete their first league double over the Tractor Boys since the 2010-11 Championship season after they secured a narrow 1-0 win at Portman Road in the reverse fixture three months ago.
Match preview
Crystal Palace have been in fine form since the turn of the year, winning eight and drawing one of their last 11 fixtures across all competitions, scoring two or more goals in seven of those matches as well as keeping six clean sheets.
Oliver Glasner's side progressed from the FA Cup fifth round last weekend after beating Millwall 3-1 on home soil, although the victory was marred by a serious injury to Jean-Philippe Mateta, who has been discharged from hospital with 25 stitches to a severe laceration to his left ear following a terribly high challenge from Lions goalkeeper Liam Roberts, who has been handed a six-game ban by the FA.
Before taking on Fulham in the quarter-finals at the end of this month, Palace will turn their attention back to the Premier League, where they currently sit 12th and six points behind the top 10 following a run of five wins in their last seven top-flight fixtures.
Over the past 14 Premier League gameweeks, only Liverpool (33) and Arsenal (29) have collected more points than Crystal Palace (27 - W8 D3 L3) since December 3, but just eight of their 27 points in that timeframe have been picked up at Selhurst Park (W2 D2 L3).
Palace will back themselves to claim maximum points on Saturday, though, as they have not lost any of their last 18 Premier League home matches against teams starting the day in the relegation zone (W12 D6), since losing 4-0 against Sunderland in February 2017.
After losing back-to-back games against Tottenham Hotspur (4-1) and Manchester United (3-2) in the Premier League, Ipswich Town were knocked out in the FA Cup fifth round by Nottingham Forest on Monday, losing 5-4 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in 120 minutes at the City Ground.
While the Tractor Boys would have liked to have moved a step closer to Wembley, Kieran McKenna's side can now focus solely on their remaining 11 Premier League matches and their battle to avoid an immediate demotion to the Championship.
Ipswich are still searching for their first Premier League win in 2025 having drawn two and lost six games since the turn of the year, conceding at least twice in seven of those. The Tractor Boys have never failed to win any of their first nine league matches in a single calendar year before.
Sitting 18th in the top-flight standings and five points adrift of safety, Ipswich will endeavour to reduce that gap by picking up valuable points across their next three league fixtures with Palace, Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth, before locking horns with 17th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers in a potentially pivotal contest next month.
Ipswich travel to Selhurst Park for a league game this weekend for the first time since they were put to the sword 5-0 by Palace in the Championship in November 2012. They have not lost consecutive away league encounters with the Eagles since a run of three between 1988 and 1994.
Team News
Crystal Palace boss Glasner has issued a positive update on Mateta, but the striker will miss Saturday's game and has joined Chadi Riad (knee), Cheick Doucoure (knee) and Joel Ward (calf) in the treatment room, while Will Hughes is beginning a two-match suspension after receiving his 10th booking of the season last week.
In the absence of Mateta, Eddie Nketiah is set to start up front and is likely to be joined in attack by Eberechi Eze and Ismaila Sarr, who scored a brace in Palace's 4-1 home win over Aston Villa in their last Premier League match.
Adam Wharton is in line to take the place of Hughes and partner Jefferson Lerma in centre-midfield, while Ben Chilwell will continue to battle with Tyrick Mitchell for a start at left wing-back as Daniel Munoz retains his spot on the opposite flank.
As for Ipswich, Sammie Szmodics will undergo ankle surgery and will be out for "an extended period of time", while Axel Tuanzebe is out with a "small muscle injury" and also needs another operation on the same thumb that he nearly lost during a freak accident while washing up earlier this season.
Both players join Chiedozie Ogbene (Achilles), Wes Burns, Conor Chaplin (both knee) and Arijanet Muric (shoulder) in the treatment room, while Saturday's game is set to come too soon for Omari Hutchinson and Julio Enciso (both knee) who are not too far away from making a full recovery.
Cameron Burgess and Kalvin Phillips will both have calf problems assessed ahead of kickoff, while Christian Walton has recovered from a groin injury and is available to return to the matchday squad, although Alex Palmer is set to retain his place in goal.
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Wharton, Lerma, Mitchell; Sarr, Eze; Nketiah
Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:
Palmer; Johnson, O'Shea, Greaves, Davis; Morsy, Cajuste; Philogene, Taylor, Clarke; Delap
We say: Crystal Palace 3-1 Ipswich Town
Considering the contrasting form of these two teams, Crystal Palace will be regarded as favourites to come out on top against an Ipswich side who are struggling to grind out positive results in their quest to avoid the drop.
Even without the presence of top scorer Mateta in attack, the Eagles will still back themselves to pose a threat against a defensively frail Tractor Boys outfit who have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last eight PL games, conceding 24 goals in the process.
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