Preview
Palace’s trip to Merseyside was one to forget, and there will be a real determination to bounce back against Southampton in front of the Selhurst Park faithful.
Indeed, Joel Ward praised the team spirit despite the result, saying the ‘unique thing about this club [is] we have great cohesion in the dressing room’.
Patrick Vieira’s focus is creating consistency in his side’s performances, and they can go some way to doing that by earning a third straight victory in south London.
“I never question the attitude of the players,” Vieira said after the game. “I work every day with them, I know what they are doing and that is why it is important to remain calm.
“One of the areas that we need to improve is how can we be more consistent in our performances. Again, today was a bad day but I will not question the attitude or the quality of the squad we have.”
The Eagles have beaten Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers in their last two home games, with Ebere Eze scoring in both.
However, in three of their last four Palace have conceded the opening goal, and despite fighting back to win twice they will be keen to start on the front foot against the Saints.
The visitors come into the game in good form, unbeaten in their last three games including a mightily impressive draw against league leaders Arsenal – becoming only the second side to take points off the Gunners this season.
However their run of four straight losses previously means they still find themselves in a precarious position, sitting 16th in the league table
