Alan Pardew confirmed Scott Dann will return to the Crystal Palace team to face Liverpool on Saturday.
However, the Eagles boss also admitted Jason Puncheon, who has had an excellent start to the season, would miss the game having also sat out of the 3-1 defeat to Leicester City last weekend.
Pardew provides injury update
“The only one we have a slight doubt with is Puncheon,” admitted Pardew in his pre-match press conference. Although insisted that Dann is “available for selection.”
Dann, a boyhood Reds fan, has been missing since the EFL Cup defeat to Southampton at the end of September and Palace have struggled without him in the team. The Eagles have lost twice following the international break – the two games the centre-back has missed – and have conceded four goals in the process.
Two other absentees, who Pardew did not mention in the press-conference, are on-loan Chelsea forward Loic Remy and defender Pape Souare. Remy is expected to return in December following a thigh injury picked up within a week of him signing, while the car accident involving Souare in September has left him with career-threatening injuries.
Clean sheets a problem for Eagles
Palace have kept just two clean sheets in 29 Premier League games and Pardew admitted that clean sheets “are a concern for all managers,” but said all his side need is “a little more concentration.”
The return of Dann will no doubt improve Palace’s chances on Saturday, but they come up against a side who have scored 20 goals already this season – a joint league high with Manchester City.
In comparison, Palace have scored twelve times in the top-flight this season and although that is above-average so far, Pardew has urged his players to score more goals to counter-act their leaky defence.
He reflected, “we just need to score more goals,” before continuing, “[against Leicester] we had 23 shots.”
Yohan Cabaye scored the Eagles’ only goal at the King Power Stadium, his first from open play since December, but Pardew feels his side were not quite themselves during the game.
He said, “it was unusual for us to concede three goals, we’re normally in with a shout [of not conceding].”