Crystal Palace V Bolton at Selhurst Park : Match Preview

18 January 2013 14:31
Crystal Palace V Bolton - view commentary, squad, and statistics of the game live.


Zaha in contention for Eagles

Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha will be fit to face Bolton and former Eagles boss Dougie Freedman.

Zaha, a target for Manchester United, went off at half-time with an ankle knock against Stoke in midweek but was back in full training on Thursday morning.

Boss Ian Holloway can add new loan signing Jacob Butterfield to his squad and welcome back Manchester City loanee Alex Nimely, who was ineligible against the Potters.

Julian Speroni, Dean Moxey, Yannick Bolasie, Andre Moritz and Glenn Murray should return to the starting line-up after Holloway rotated his squad for the 4-1 FA Cup defeat.

But Kagisho Dikgacoi is on African Nations Cup duty while Paddy McCarthy, Joel Ward (both groin) and Owen Garvan (knee) are on the sick list.

Freedman will run the rule over Keith Andrews and Sam Ricketts.

The Scot left Palace to take the reins at the Reebok Stadium last October and returns to the club he represented for more than a decade across two spells as a player for the first time as a manager.

Republic of Ireland international midfielder Andrews has been playing through the pain of an Achilles problem for a number of weeks, while full-back Ricketts is nursing a groin complaint.

Freedman has options in attack, with Marvin Sordell pressing to retain his starting place in the league after a brace from the Team GB Olympic striker sunk FA Cup foes Sunderland on Tuesday night, while new signing Craig Davies is ready for his debut.

"He will be in (the squad)," said the Wanderers manager. "He's fit, he's raring to go, he's desperate to play but I just need to make sure the timing when he plays is right."

Long-term injury victims Stuart Holden and Josh Vela returned to first-team action at the Stadium of Light, but fellow midfielder Mark Davies (shoulder) and defender Matt Mills (thigh) remain sidelined.

Centre-back David Wheater is set to play for the reserves on Monday as he steps up his own rehabilitation from a serious knee injury.

Source: PA