Sunderland v Palace

Stadium of Light, Tuesday 7.45pm

Yannick Bolasie

Team news

Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew may start with Yannick Bolasie after he impressed as a second half sub during Saturday's defeat at West Brom. The winger is getting back his match sharpness following two months on the sidelines with a hip injury.

Jason Puncheon (hamstring) and James McArthur (ankle), plus Pape Souare (suspension) are out. Bakary Sako is closing in on a return after his hamstring injury, while Wilfried Zaha is rated as "60/40" after picking up a knock at West Brom.

Sunderland midfielder Jeremain Lens (hernia) and striker Duncan Watmore (ankle ligaments) won't play, so manager Sam Alardyce will stick with the same squad that lost 1-0 at West Ham on Saturday.

Sunderland (from): Mannone, Pickford, Van Aanholt, Yedlin, O'Shea, Jones, Kone, Kaboul, Brown, Kirchhoff, Cattermole, M'Vila, Khazri, Borini, Rodwell, Toivonen, Larsson, Defoe, N'Doye.

Palace (from): Hennessey, Speroni, McCarthy, Dann, Delaney, Hangeland, Kelly, Mariappa, Ward, Jedinak, Cabaye, Ledley, Mutch, Bolasie, Lee, Sako, Zaha, Adebayor, Campbell, Chamakh, Gayle, Wickham.

Quotes

Roy Hodgson

“Yes, of course we are [in a relegation fight]. We keep losing and we need to click into gear. So, as much as I’m looking at myself, I’m looking at my players and staff and saying: ‘Come on, stop daydreaming. Let’s get on with it.’

“This team’s DNA has been to fight, to battle, to scrap, and we didn’t do that in the first half there,” Pardew said. “That was the most disturbing thing. It was uncharacteristic, but that will worry our fans.

"Over the 14 months I’ve been here, this is the first time we’ve had any ‘down time’. But this group, let’s be honest, have been in relegation battles in the last two years and finished really strongly. It’s a fighting group. I have no fear going forward with them.

“There are no excuses going forward, and still a lot of points available. And I’d still rather be in our position than that of six or seven clubs in the division, so maybe we ain’t as bad as we feel today.”

Connor Wickham

"It's a weight off my shoulders personally [to score first Palace goal from open play] but the gaffer has spoken to me individually over the past few weeks and said there's no pressure on me to get goals.

"I always want to score goals. It wasn't enough but hopefully it can be a confidence builder for the rest of the season. It's just me going back to instinct, I've thought to shoot every time and thankfully I've caught the second one sweetly and it's gone into the top corner."

Yannick Bolasie

"It's a case of getting match fitness for myself now. I feel strong and I feel all right. Now the hardest thing is match fitness.

"It's been a bit different compared to when I left, when we were fifth in the league. It's been a bit weird to be honest. The FA Cup victories have lifted the club a little bit, but the main thing for us is the league form, trying to correct that.

"I couldn't put a finger on one thing [that's gone wrong]. There's been a lot of injuries, not just to myself. We got injuries at the wrong time and the timing of those injuries [affected us]."

Sam Alardyce

"I wouldn't mind being Alan now. For years and years and years I have shown players at the start of season that the first eight to 10 games are the most important. It determines how much pressure you will put yourself under.

'If you have a brilliant start and get the points on the board, then if like Palace when you go 10 without a win, you have just slipped into the bottom half for first time with just 11 games left.

"It shows what it means to have a great start. Mid-table teams can always have a run like that so it's better to put it right in the first place by getting off to a good start. Their great start has given them a nice cushion and I'd sooner be in their position than mine.'

"The pressure on us in Tuesday night's game is immense now. We have to have our best run of the season now, with a minimum of five victories in the 11 games we have left."

Sunderland - league stats

Position	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points
19th	27	6	5	16	23

Full league table

Last five results

Date	Type	Home Team	Score	Away Team
23/11/2015	League	Crystal Palace	0 - 1	Sunderland
11/04/2015	League	Sunderland	1 - 4	Crystal Palace
03/11/2014	League	Crystal Palace	1 - 3	Sunderland
15/03/2014	League	Sunderland	0 - 0	Crystal Palace
31/08/2013	League	Crystal Palace	3 - 1	Sunderland

All time results

Last meeting

Palace 0-1 Sunderland

Monday November 23 2015

Palace: Hennessey, Dann, Delaney, Ward, N'Diaye Souare, Zaha, McArthur, Cabaye, Puncheon (Sako, 45 (Bamford, 69)), Bolasie, Wickham (Chamakh, 76)

Subs not used: Jedinak, Kelly, Ledley, Speroni

Bookings: Dann

Sunderland: Pantilimon, Coates, Kaboul, O'Shea, Cattermole, van Aanholt, M'Vila, Larsson (Watmore, 60), Jones, Defoe (Graham, 86), Fletcher (Lens, 59)

Subs not used: Toivonen, Yedlin, Johnson, Mannone

Goals: Defoe (80)

Bookings: Jones, M'Vila, Defoe