Crystal Palace’s Andros Townsend has to start against Liverpool

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Roy Hodgson hosts his former side Liverpool in the Premier League this weekend.

Not many people would have expected Crystal Palace to have a start as good as they have this season. The Eagles lost just two of their first eight games and surprised a number of people in the process.

With just one point out of their last four games, Roy Hodgson’s side have dropped to 12th, but it isn’t as bad as it looks.

Palace have already faced five of last season’s top six teams and will play Liverpool this weekend to end a horrific run of fixtures. The eight games following the one against the league leaders on Saturday look very winnable on paper and that should be good enough motivation to have a real go at Liverpool this weekend.

Hodgson’s biggest problem recently has been the lack of width in his side. Wilfried Zaha is yet to reach the heights of last season which has been a real blow for the Eagles so far. Jordan Ayew has been a positive surprise up front having scored four goals already.

One player who hasn’t quite played as much as he would have liked if Andros Townsend. The former Tottenham man has started just five games this season but he could be the key to unlock Liverpool’s defence at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

Palace will play on the counter-attack as they do against most teams. Liverpool’s full-backs will spend most of their time in Palace’s half trying to provide width to Sadio Mane and Mo Salah who will drift inwards. The space that the Reds’ full-backs leave in their own half has to be Palace’s outlet and that is the area where Townsend is most dangerous.

Zaha and Townsend both possess enough pace to carry the ball from one end of the pitch to the other. Ayew’s movement will also be key in the final third but Townsend’s ability to create as well as to score from distance makes him Crystal Palace’s most important player on Saturday.

Hodgson is known to prefer a flat four-man midfield with Schlupp on the left-wing and Zaha on the right but playing the Ivorian in his preferred position on the flank with Townsend on the right makes a lot more sense considering their opposition on Saturday.