Explanation provided for Wilfried Zaha’s absence from Crystal Palace squad vs Man City
Last Updated: January 17, 2021 8:06 pm
Etihad showdown
The Eagles are currently locked in action with Pep Guardiola’s men at the Etihad, in their latest Premier League outing.
Palace of course headed into proceedings as heavy underdogs, with the capital outfit having managed just a solitary win from their last 7 in the English top-flight.
Hosts City, on the other hand, are flying high on the back of 7-straight victories across all competitions.
The Sky Blues were also boosted, meanwhile, by the result of the weekend’s marquee Premier League fixture, which saw Liverpool and Manchester United play out a 0-0 draw at Anfield earlier this evening.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – JANUARY 17: Thiago of Liverpool challenges for the ball with Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield on January 17, 2021 in Liverpool, England. Sporting stadiums around England remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
As such, ahead of kick-off in Manchester, Palace were no doubt aware that a testing 90 minutes lay in store.
Zaha’s absence
It therefore came as a major blow for the Eagles faithful when, just an hour prior to proceedings getting underway, it was revealed that the club’s star man would play no part versus City.
Upon the visitors’ starting XI being unveiled, neither Wilfried Zaha or Cheikhou Kouyaté were anywhere to be seen:
COME ON YOU PALACE#CPFC | #MCICRY
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) January 17, 2021
In turn, speaking during a pre-match interview at the Etihad, Roy Hodgson was inevitably drawn on the absence of the aforementioned pair.
And the Palace boss went on to confirm:
‘Cheikhou’s got a family situation which meant that he wasn’t able to be with us on this occasion, and Wilf unfortunately picked up a knock, an injury in the game against Arsenal.’
Hodgson continued:
‘Every time Wilf doesn’t play it’s a miss, that’s been well-documented.’
‘We’d loved to have had him here, we’d loved to have had Cheik [Kouyate] here as well but these things happen in a game of football.’
Roy Hodgson explains his team selection at Man City – with Wilfried Zaha missing out
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— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 17, 2021
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This article was edited by Josh Barker.
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Crystal Palace betting odds, next game:
Tottenham vs Crystal Palace odds: result, both teams to score, correct score & goalscorers
| Tottenham vs Crystal Palace Result/Both teams score | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Tottenham | 5/2 | 11/8 |
| Crystal Palace | 11/1 | 9/1 |
| Draw | 5/1 | 10/1 |
| Tottenham vs Crystal Palace Goalscorers | First | Last | Anytime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Kane | 11/10 | 11/10 | 4/7 |
| Heung-Min Son | 7/4 | 7/4 | 10/11 |
| Carlos Vinicius | 2/1 | 2/1 | 21/20 |
| Gareth Bale | 3/1 | 3/1 | 8/5 |
| Dane Scarlett | 10/3 | 10/3 | 7/4 |
Crystal Palace's latest videos
Crystal Palace latest news
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City FC | 26 | 36 | 62 |
| 2 | Manchester United FC | 26 | 21 | 50 |
| 3 | Leicester City FC | 26 | 15 | 49 |
| 4 | West Ham United FC | 26 | 9 | 45 |
| 5 | Chelsea FC | 26 | 16 | 44 |
| 6 | Liverpool FC | 26 | 13 | 43 |
| 7 | Everton FC | 24 | 4 | 40 |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 25 | 14 | 39 |
| 9 | Aston Villa FC | 24 | 12 | 39 |
| 10 | Arsenal FC | 26 | 7 | 37 |
| 11 | Leeds United | 26 | -1 | 35 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 26 | -6 | 34 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 26 | -14 | 33 |
| 14 | Southampton FC | 25 | -12 | 30 |
| 15 | Burnley FC | 26 | -16 | 28 |
| 16 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 26 | -7 | 26 |
| 17 | Newcastle United FC | 26 | -17 | 26 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 26 | -11 | 23 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 26 | -35 | 17 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 26 | -28 | 11 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 17 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 15 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 14 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 13 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 13 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 12 |
| Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City FC | 11 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 10 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 9 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 9 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 9 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 8 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 8 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 8 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 8 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 7 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 8 |
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 8 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 7 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United FC | 0 | 7 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 7 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
| Klich, Mateusz | Leeds United | 0 | 6 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Hojbjerg, Pierre | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 0 | 6 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 5 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Luiz, Douglas | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 5 |
| Kante, N`Golo | Chelsea FC | 0 | 6 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 0 | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Dallas, Stuart | Leeds United | 0 | 5 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 11 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 10 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 10 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 8 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 6 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 6 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 6 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 5 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 5 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 5 |
| Neto, Pedro | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 5 |
| Robertson, Andrew | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 5 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 4 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 4 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 4 |
