Leicester the opponents as Eagles look to soar again

After a week of European football, we can finally turn our attention back to the Premier League and the next round of fixtures. This time around Palace travel to Leicester looking to make amends for a mediocre performance last time out against West Ham and get back to the kind of form which saw us go five unbeaten prior to that dead rubber of a performance.

Our failings were obvious and widespread against West Ham. Our slow start combined with their quick one put us on the back foot straight away and from there we really struggled to dig our way out of the hole we’d put ourselves in and gain any kind of foothold in the game. You can’t account for Benteke’s penalty miss but ultimately even if we’d scored it and gone in at half time level pegging with West Ham you’d have found few people arguing it would have been deserved.

This weekend a slow start could prove even more costly. Leicester are a side who have the ability to start fast, the pace of Vardy and Mahrez and Leicester’s press at home mean that if we start in the same lethargic manner as last Saturday we could end up being blown away in the opening 45 minutes.

Thankfully, our form away from home suggests that there is every chance of that not happening. We did a job away from home against an Everton side that went on to salvage a draw away at title favourites Manchester City the following weekend and we recovered from a 2 goal deficit away at Sunderland to pick up all three points. In fact, the only away fixture in which we have failed to pick up a single point was against the nearly-champions of last season and the one who sits third in the table – Tottenham Hotspur. Our seemingly inherent ability to play on the counter attack could well work to our advantage once again this weekend…

The squad that will make the trip up to Leicester is more or less the same as the one that was fit to face West Ham, witht the exception of Scott Dann. He’s nearing full fitness but, if Pardew’s press conference is to be believed, he will not start and will only play a part if either Damien Delaney or James Tomkins picks up a knock.

There was no word on Yohan from Pardew but I think it’s reasonable to suggest that he could well start against Leicester. His performance in the second half against West Ham was one of the few positives to come out of the game and after a couple of uncertain performances from Joe Ledley in the last couple of weeks, we could see a straight swap in midfield.

In terms of Leicester, well they’re having an ‘up and down’ season so far. Three wins out of three in the Champions league has been accompanied by a stuttering Premier League campaign but they don’t appear to be suffering from too much of a Champions League hangover directly after their fixtures. After their opening win against Brugge they put three past Burnley; after their win against Porto they drew at home to a Southampton side that have rebounded spectacularly after their slow start and although they played one more game than Palace this week it was at home and another win in the Champions League will of course be a boost to their confidence.

It was Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy that consigned Palace to two losses against Leicester last season, both home and away, but if we perform at our best, this time round things could be looking better for Palace. Last season Leicester won the league – they were the most consistent side over the course of 38 games and deserved to win it. They rode a wave of confidence; each victory gave them more belief that they were a team good enough to win the league and ultimately they got over the line and did it.

Make no mistake, they’re still a good side, but this season their stuttering form in the Premier League means they appear to be a little more vulnerable. Defensively there have been examples of lapses that just didn’t happen last season and with Palace’s attacking options improving and our well documented ability on the break we could be in for a tight game, but a great game.