Palace v Brighton
PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: Selhurst Park
Date: Saturday 14th April 2018
Kick-off: 15:00 BST
Referee: Andre Marriner
Assistants: Scott Ledger, Simon Long
Fourth official: Graham Scott
TEAM NEWS
Crystal Palace's lengthy injury list is finally showing signs of easing.
Joel Ward is available once again, while strikers Christian Benteke and Alexander Sorloth may be in contention should they pass late fitness tests.
Brighton welcome back winger Anthony Knockaert after suspension but they are now without the previously ever-present Davy Propper for three games following his sending off last weekend.
Manager Chris Hughton has reported no fresh injuries for the Seagulls.
MOTD COMMENTATOR'S NOTES
Jonathan Pearce: "This is a pivotal game. If Palace win, I can see them finishing above Brighton, who still need another win for comfort. If the Eagles lose, they might need goal difference to stay up. It'll be that tight.
"Wilfried Zaha is the key. He destroyed Brighton in the Championship promotion play-offs in 2013 and scored brilliantly at Bournemouth last weekend. Missed chances in that game, though, could come back to haunt Palace.
"If Brighton thought they were safe after beating Arsenal on 4 March, they were mistaken.
"They haven't won in four games since then, and have just seven away goals all season - the lowest tally in England's top 10 divisions. If they don't improve on that they'll be in deep trouble again."
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY
Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson: "Both [previous games with Brighton this season] were tight games. We had a severe injury crisis for the second one, when we had our minds on the league, rather than the FA Cup. It will be a different team this week.
"They [Brighton] are a hard-working team and this is a derby, which is big for both sides. It is a big occasion, but I think we are ready for it."
Brighton manager Chris Hughton: "It's still the same group of teams with six games to go. There are so many points to play for. Somebody is going to pull out some surprise and good results that you didn't expect - they always do.
"Which team will do that, I don't know. We have to look at it but we will certainly need points to make sure we stay up."
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
[*=left]Brighton have never lost a top-flight match against Crystal Palace, conceding just three goals in their five meetings at this level (W3, D2).
[*=left]Including play-offs games, Crystal Palace have been beaten only once in their last eight league matches against Brighton (W4, D4).
[*=left]Palace have lost only of eight games at Selhurst Park in all competitions versus the Seagulls (W5, D2), with that defeat a 1-0 loss in the Championship in October 2005.
[*=left]Brighton beat Palace 2-1 in the FA Cup third round earlier this season.
Palace
[*=left]Crystal Palace have won just one of their last 10 league fixtures (D3, L6).
[*=left]They have recorded only one victory at Selhurst Park in seven matches and have lost their last three there.
[*=left]Just three of Palace's 16 league defeats this season have come against teams who began the day in the bottom half of the table.
[*=left]The Eagles have conceded a league-high nine goals in the opening 15 minutes of games this season.
[*=left]They have won only one of their five previous games against last season's promoted sides this season (D2, L2).
[*=left]Palace have scored 45.5% of their league goals from set-pieces this season, the highest figure in the top flight.
[*=left]Luka Milivojevic has scored in each of his last three Premier League games - the only Palace player to score in more consecutive matches is Neil Shipperley, who netted in five in a row between October and December 1997.
Brighton
[*=left]Brighton have taken only one point from their last three league games, having previously claimed 11 points out of a possible 15 before that (W3, D2).
[*=left]Albion are winless in nine away league encounters (D3, L6) since November's 1-0 win at Swansea.
[*=left]They have scored a league-low seven away league goals and have not scored in seven of their last nine matches on the road.
[*=left]There has been a red card in each of Brighton's last three league games, with two of them shown to Seagulls players.
[*=left]Chris Hughton has lost only one of his eight competitive matches as a manager against Palace (W5, D2).
[*=left]This fixture is Brighton's 100th top-flight away fixture (W15, D27, L57).
