Crystal Palace host new boys Leicester City at Selhurst Park on Saturday and Oliver Glasner’s side will be hoping for lift-off for the season.
WATCH CRYSTAL PALACE v LEICESTER LIVE
The Eagles drew at Chelsea before the break in a much-improved display as goalkeeper Dean Henderson was excellent in goal and the exceptional Eberechi Eze dazzled in attack and scored a beauty of an equalizer. Given their superb finish to last season Palace were tipped for a potential European push this year but they did have plenty of players away for most of the summer on international duty, so perhaps the slow start of one point from their first three games was to be expected. Yet a busy finish to the transfer window has strengthened their squad considerably and now it’s time for them to kick on.
Leicester have the same points tally as Steve Cooper continues to make the Foxes solid to play against but they’ve just come up short in back-to-back defeats to Fulham and Aston Villa. Leicester’s transfer plans were impacted by their well-known financial constraints but they still have a squad capable of competing to stay in the Premier League. And although their style of play may not be as swashbuckling as in the Championship last season, that may actually be a good thing as they try to stay in the top-flight.
How to watch Crystal Palace vs Leicester live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 10am ET Saturday (September 14)
Venue: Selhurst Park
TV Channel: USA Network
Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com
Crystal Palace vs Leicester score: 1-2
Thickness 47′; Vardy 21′, Mavids 46′
Crystal Palace vs Leicester live updates! – By Joe Prince-Wright
Nketiah so close to a debut goal
Lovely play from Palace to play in Nketiah but he fires across goal and off target. He has to hit the target there. Palace pushing hard for an equalizer.
Mateta scores but it’s offside… but hang on, VAR says it’s on! – Crystal Palace 1-2 Leicester
A cross into the box is finished by Mateta but he is offside and the flag goes up. VAR checks it and takes a long time before deciding it is indeed a goal. That was so tight and the angle we saw made it look like Mateta was well off. Okay, it stands. What a start to the second half at Selhurst!
What a start to the second half as Mavididi scores! – Crystal Palace 0-2 Leicester
Wow. What a perfect start to the second half for Leicester. A cross into the box is half cleared and Ndidi puts the ball cleverly on a plate for Mavididi to finish.
Mavididi doubles Leicester City’s lead over Palace
Stephy Mavididi’s volley finds the back of the net to give the Foxes a 2-0 lead against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
Half time: Crystal Palace 0-1 Leicester
That is what you call a proper away performance so far from Leicester. Vardy got the goal on the break and they’ve looked sharp and dangerous on the counter. That said, Palace have created plenty but have rushed their finishing.
Mavididi smashes just wide
Vardy latches onto the ball and sets up Mavididi from a tight angle, but his shot at the near post flies wide of the top corner. That was a big chance for Leicester to snatch a second just before the break.
It should be level
Eze wriggles free in the box and puts his shot across goal but it goes wide with Mateta ready to tap home. It looked like the French striker left the ball as he thought it was going in. Palace well on top now, but they’re still behind.
Jamie Vardy puts the Foxes ahead! Crystal Palace 0-1 Leicester
Vardy, 37 years young, latches on to a lovely ball over the top from Ndidi and gets the best of Guehi and nips in front of Henderson to dink home his finish. The away fans go wild and Leicester take the lead.
Vardy fires Leicester City ahead of Crystal Palace
Jamie Vardy scores his second goal of the season despite a tough angle on goal to give Leicester City an early lead over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
Munoz denied by a brilliant block from Faes
That is a wonderful piece of defending from Wout Faes. Eze finds Munoz completely unmarked in the box but Faes comes flying in and blocks the shot at the crucial moment.
Nketiah heads wide as Palace improve
Okay, this is much better from Palace. A cross comes in from the left and Nketiah rises high but his header is off target.
What a huge chance for Ayew!
After switching Palace for Leicester this summer, Jordan Ayew is back at Selhurst Park quickly and he should put his new side Leicester ahead. The ball is looped to him at the back post and he has so much time to volley on goal, but he scuffs it into the ground and the ball bounces over. Brilliant chance for Ayew.
Crystal Palace lineup
Henderson; Clyne, Guehi, Lacroix; Munoz, Wharton, Doucoure, Mitchell; Eze; Mateta, Nketiah
Leicester lineup
Hermansen; Justin, Faes, Okoli, Kristiansen; Winks, Skipp, Ndidi; Ayew, Vardy, Mavididi
Crystal Palace focus, team news
Palace have looked a little lackluster in attack so far this season but after losing Michael Olise to Bayern Munich this summer and having Jean-Philippe Mateta arrive back late for preseason due to his involvement in the Olympics, perhaps this was expected. Eze is now their undisputed main man and everything runs through him with deep-lying playmaker Adam Wharton always seeming to find Eze in space with his midfield-splitting passes. New signings Eddie Nketiah, and Maxence Lacroix could feature but Trevoh Chalobah is out. And after keeping hold of Marc Guehi Palace also received a much-needed boost.
OUT: Matheus France (chest/abdominal), Chadi Riad (knee), Rob Holding (undisclosed), Trevoh Chalobah (abdominal)
Leicester focus, team news
Steve Cooper will keep relying on Jamie Vardy as the 37-year-old grabbed the equalizer on the opening weekend to get a point against Tottenham and will run himself into the ground, as he always has. Jordan Ayew and Odsonne Edouard were savvy pick-ups from Crystal Palace this summer but Edouard can’t feature while on loan from Palace, while the likes of Oliver Skipp and Facundo Buonanotte (who scored against Aston Villa last time out) look like very solid additions too. Watch out for winger Abdul Fatawu, who is a real talent and loves to cut in from the right and produce some magic.
OUT: Patson Daka (ankle), Jakub Stolarczyk (ankle), Odsonne Edouard (loan from parent club)
Crystal Palace vs Leicester prediction
This feels like it will be a tight game but the likes of Eze and Mateta are in full-flow now and should prove too much for Leicester to handle. Crystal Palace 2-1 Leicester City.
