Crystal Palace travel to the south coast on Saturday to face Southampton chasing their first win at St Mary’s since a 2-1 result in January 2018, but where are Roy Hodgson’s side now?
The Eagles have rarely beaten the Saints in recent seasons with two wins in eight meetings over the past four years. Goals by James McArthur Luka Milivojevic gained all three-points at St Mary’s, while Wilfried Zaha struck the only effort at Selhurst Park in September 2020.
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Patrick Vieira coaxed a 2-2 draw in his only encounter with Southampton as Crystal Palace boss after replacing Hodgson last year. The French coach will now hope to avoid the south London outfit losing in successive trips to St Mary’s, after the Saints dealt a 3-1 loss in May.
Shane Long broke the deadlock for Southampton in Crystal Palace’s last winning visit to St Mary’s in 2018. The Republic of Ireland striker fired home past Wayne Hennessey after 17 minutes, recording his first Premier League goal in 26 appearances back to February 2017.
A change in system saw the Eagles find some momentum, though, after moving into a 4-4-2 at half-time. McArthur then volleyed in from close-range on 69 minutes, before a curled 25-yard hit into the top corner by Milivojevic beat Alex McCarthy to complete their comeback.
Wayne Hennessey (GK) – Burnley
Hennessey spent seven years at Crystal Palace between joining the Selhurst Park side and leaving for Burnley last summer. The Eagles released the Wales shot-stopper at the end of his contract, following just three Premier League appearances over the prior two seasons.
His last top-flight outing for the south London side came in June 2020, and has so far made two for the Clarets. Hennessey featured against Manchester United and Leeds at the turn of the year, but he conceded three goals during each meeting with Nick Pope unavailable.
Timothy Fosu-Mensah – Bayer Leverkusen
Timothy Fosu-Mensah spent the 2017/18 Premier League season on loan at Crystal Palace from Manchester United and helped beat Southampton. The right-back made a total of 21 league outings for the Eagles, but failed to offer a single assist, score and two clean sheets.
He would return to London in ‘18/19 on loan to Fulham, before leaving Manchester United for Bayer Leverkusen in a £2m deal in January 2021. But his time at the Bundesliga outfit is yet to kick off with 12 league games between a cruciate ligament tear and a tendon injury.
Martin Kelly – Crystal Palace
Martin Kelly arrived at Crystal Palace from Liverpool in 2014, and celebrates turning 32 on April 27 having played 121 Premier League fixtures with the Eagles. But the right-back has only featured in the top-flight for one single minute of regulation time since January 2020.
Hodgson awarded Kelly his first game time in more than a year as a final minute substitute on the final day last season. Vieira is yet to field the one-cap England international since he took charge, outside of the Eagles’ FA Cup fourth-round win over League Two Hartlepool.
James Tomkins – Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace paid London rivals West Ham £10m for James Tomkins in 2016, but the 33-year-old may now be nearing the end of his Selhurst Park career. He will be out of contract at the end of the season, and has so far only featured in eight league games under Vieira.
Additionally, Tomkins has only started six of his top-flight outings so far this term and has not featured since December. The centre-back made the most recent of his 115 Premier League outings for the Eagles as a late substitute to help see out a 3-0 win over Norwich.
Jeffrey Schlupp – Crystal Palace
Jeffrey Schlupp left Leicester inside a year of winning the Premier League to join Crystal Palace for £12m in 2017. The Ghanaian has so far featured in 27 top-flight games under Vieira this term. But he has only started 17 matches, and is out of contract this summer.
Schlupp, likewise, only started 21 games during the 2017/18 season – including the last time Crystal Palace won at Southampton. He would enjoy his most league appearances in a single season with the Eagles during the ‘18/19 campaign, playing in 30 but starting 18.
James McArthur – Crystal Palace
McArthur is yet another Crystal Palace star who beat Southampton in January 2018 who is out of contract this summer. The former Scotland international has been at Selhurst Park since leaving Wigan Athletic in 2014 for £5.5m, and has made 234 top-flight outings since.
He also boasts 17 goals and 22 assists across his league games for the Eagles to date. But McArthur is yet to score this season, alongside his three assists, across 19 outings of which he has started 14 following a three-month lay-off with a hamstring injury over the winter.
Luka Milivojevic – Crystal Palace
Milivojevic joined Crystal Palace for £11m from Olympiakos on deadline day in the January 2017 window. He later signed a new contract in 2019 to keep him at Selhurst Park to 2023, But the 31-year-old Eagles captain has so far featured in just 13 league games under Vieira.
He has also only featured for 31 minutes over the south London side’s last six games since starting against Burnley. The Clarets affair marked Milivojevic’s 150th Premier League start over 163 outings to date since moving to the capital, including 28 goals and five assists.
Andros Townsend – Everton
Crystal Palace seized on Newcastle United’s relegation to the Championship to sign Andros Townsend for £13m in 2016. The former England forward spent the following five years at Selhurst Park, before the Eagles released him and Everton swooped to seal a free transfer.
Townsend was still a key figure under Hodgson during his final season at Crystal Palace. He started 25 of his 34 league outings last term, while scoring once and assisting five goals. He has since scored three and created two in 21 for Everton, but has not played since March.
The 30-year-old – who played a total 168 Premier League games for the Eagles – suffered a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury during their FA Cup tie with Crystal Palace. Only Richarlison (8) has more Everton goals than Townsend (7) in all competitions this term.
Yohan Cabaye – Retired
Yohan Cabaye returned to the Premier League with Crystal Palace in 2015 following a year-and-a-half at Paris Saint-Germain for £10m. The move was the Eagles’ club-record transfer at the time, with the Frenchman going on to play 96 Premier League games for nine goals.
He also offered five assists and captained Crystal Palace in their last win at Southampton in January 2018. Cabaye only played the first-half at St Mary’s, however, having struggled for fitness following a goalless draw with Manchester City three days before facing the Saints.
The midfielder remained at Selhurst Park until 2018 before being released. He then joined Dubai side Al-Nasr for just five months and returned to France with Saint-Etienne the next summer. Cabaye played 21 games with the Ligue 1 side in 2019/20, before retiring in 2021.
Wilfried Zaha – Crystal Palace
Zaha returned to Crystal Palace permanently from Manchester United in 2015 for an initial mere £3m. His Selhurst Park future has often been up for debate since, and the Daily Mail report the Eagles could cash in this summer as he will enter the final year of his contract.
Palace feel they can now let Zaha leave, having previously fended off interest in the Ivorian by demanding £80m. He is their top-scorer in the Premier League this season with 11 goals in 28 outings. No other Eagles player has found the back of the net for a double-digit haul.
Christian Benteke – Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace spent a new club-record in August 2016 to buy Christian Benteke in a £27m move from Liverpool. The deal also featured £5m in add-ons, and has returned 35 goals in 160 Premier League games. The Belgian has also provided 12 assists in the top-flight so far.
One of Benteke’s assists also came during Crystal Palace’s last win away to Southampton. He headed the ball onto McArthur from an arguably offside position for the midfielder to equalise. It came amid his Eagles-best return of six assists during the 2017/18 league term.
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