Tony Pulis will have no room for sentiment when Crystal
Palace visit Cardiff City for a crucial match in the relegation battle on
Saturday.
Just five points separate 16th-placed Palace from
Cardiff, who occupy the final relegation spot, and defeat for Ole Gunnar
Solskjaer's men at the Cardiff City Stadium would deal a huge blow to their
Premier League survival prospects.
For Palace manager Pulis, the fixture will evoke memories
of his childhood, with the Welshman having watched Cardiff in his youth.
Pulis is keen for Cardiff to retain their top-flight
status, but has no intention of doing the Welsh club a favour.
"I watched Cardiff when I was a young boy," he
said. "It was wonderful to see Cardiff get promoted with Swansea. Last
year was a really good year for Welsh football and I want it to thrive. It's
important for the nation.
"It's a fantastic club in a great city and you hope,
along with us, that they stay in the Premier League. But there will be nothing
given from us on Saturday."
Palace have won only twice on their travels in the league
this season, but the Londoners head to Cardiff buoyed by a shock 1-0 win over
title hopefuls Chelsea last Saturday.
An own goal from Chelsea captain John Terry was enough to
settle the encounter as Palace held firm to pick up all three points in front
of a jubilant Selhurst Park crowd.
In a further boost, Palace's top scorer Marouane Chamakh
is in contention to return following a month on the sidelines with a hamstring
injury, though fellow striker Dwight Gayle (ankle) will miss out.
For Cardiff, the fixture is unlikely to provide the same
level of drama that the 3-3 draw at West Brom produced last week.
After Cardiff had clawed back a 2-0 deficit, West Brom
appeared to have stolen all three points through Thievy Bifouma in the fourth
minute of stoppage time, only for Mats Daehli to send the away fans into
raptures with an immediate equaliser.
That point could yet prove crucial, but with just six
games remaining time is running out for Cardiff to beat the drop, prompting
winger Craig Noone to describe the Palace game as "must-win".
"These are the must-win games of your career,"
he is quoted as saying by BBC Sport. "You don't get many of them which you
have to win, but I think this is one of them. It's a massive game and we're
targeting three points."
Full-back Fabio is the only fresh injury concern for
Solskjaer; the on-loan Manchester United defender came off early against West
Brom with a knock.
Culled from Soccerway
0 comments:
Post a Comment