Now Olise is injured(again), god knows how long for this time.

Henderson
Clyne
Andersen
Guehi
Mitchell
Lerma
Richards
Schlupp
Eze
?????
Mateta

This is for our normal set up(4231). Not sure if Edouard can play right side, not sure who fits straight in for the injured Olise. Franca? don't think Roy will start him, Hughes? not sure he could play there, OR, maybe play Clyne there, put Richards RB & Hughes alongside Lerma. God, i haven't got a scooby.

I'm a blind man, i'm a blind man, now my room is cold,
When a blind man cries, Lord, he feels it from his soul.
[Link]

I know there is a while before our next game, and even longer before our next winnable. But I think objective 1 is to not lose any other first teamers.

I'd go for something like this

Matthews

Imray, Tomkins, Anderson/Guehi Schlupp

Riedewald, Ozoh, Hughes

Ahamada, França

Edouard

I doubt it will be that 'back up'. But I just cannot see an excuse for not starting Ozoh, Ahamada and Franca.

From BBC:

Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson has indicated he will field a strong team against Everton: "There have been times when I have been here when I've been more concerned with the staying in the league factor. Not just because of the margin, more because we have a good team and I think this team is more than good enough to keep us in the league.

"I don't have to worry about that balancing act as much as I have done in certain times in the past. It would be nice to have a cup run and it would be nice to do well. We’re certainly going to have a go at it.

"To win it? It would be lovely of course it would be. It would be a great thing to offer them if you like. We can only do our best. We can only play with the players we have available and put our best foot forward. If you’re talking of the dream and hope, of course it would be a big dream."

Edited by Nicholas91 (03 Jan 2024 3.33pm)

Now Zaha's got a bit of green grass ahead of him here... and finds Ambrose... not a bad effort!!!!

I was thinking back to the old days when Palace were in 3rd division south and 4th division.
Whenever they were knocked out of FA cup rounds, my old dad would tell everybody it was a good thing and Palace could concentrate on not being relegated out of the league and having to seek re-election.
My personal opinion is that the cup seems to have lost some of its sparkle and the premier league is where the money and prestige is.
I agree that we should rest our regular lineup but give some of the bench guys a chance.
Perhaps my dad was a football Nostradamus.

Yes. Also, it's one thing for Hodgson to point to the Winter Break giving time for players to recover before the league fixtures resume, but he's doesn't seem to be taking into account the recent relentless fixture programme in December (7 games in 28 days). Yes all the other PL clubs have had a similar programme BUT I suspect they will (in the main) have made greater use of squad rotation.

I dont reckon you're Roy in disguise.