As it happened: A late Barnes cracker spares Rodgers' blushes at Selhurst Park 1-1

I am Robin Mumford, thank you for putting up with me, and until next time!

A great game of two halves...

The first was dominated by Harvey Barnes and Leicester, although they weren't able to translate their efforts into goals. Zaha scored in Palace's early second-half domination, but Barnes' late strike secured a point for the Foxes, who go second.

Crystal Palace are up to thirteenth, their defensive display this afternoon is a testament to their improvement since their last two romps.

Leicester were made to rue their missed chances this afternoon.

A thoroughly enjoyable watch for Bank Holiday Monday!

Amazon Prime have gifted Harvey Barnes the Man of The Match.

He has been at the heart of Leicester when they have been on the front foot. A player who thrives under the responsibility to shine.

All Leicester now, they sense victory...

Demarai Gray wins the argument to set his sights on a shot from a dead ball situation.

Enough power behind his shot, but the ball doesn't dip enough to trouble Guaita.

Lost in the mist of the Barnes spectacle, Ayew is on the pitch, he came on for Jeffrey Schlupp. 

The visitors have wind behind their sails now, but Palace aren't shying away from attacking themselves.

Have to feel a draw would be a fair result, but Leicester have regained the control they imposed in the first 45 minutes.

Harvey Barnes looks lively and the most likely to find the winner... if there is one.

Out of nothing, a lax in concentration from the Palace defence allows Barnes to score a magical goal.

The Englishman dances through a congestion of players and sinks the ball into the bottom right corner.

Crystal Palace will be kicking themselves after this one...

Feels like a while since there was talk of a dangerous Leicester attack on this live blog.

Game management is a priority for the home side who, for the majority of this second period, have been astute in their movement on and off the ball.

Kouyate dealt with Jamie Vardy's first chance to run in behind with ease. Although, it did come at the expensive of a hand to the eye of the fox in the box. 

The Eagles remain calm at the back...

Jairo Riedewald, who has played well in the second-half, is replaced by James McArthur.

The experience added to the Palace midfield should help them wrestle their way to a vital three points at Selhurst Park.

Rodgers takes off the out of confidence striker, Kelechi Iheanacho, and brings on Demarai Gray.

The winger is getting his first Premier League minutes of the season in the last 20 of this game.

It is clear that Palace look comfortable still. Vardy has been handed a poison chalice in Rodger's strive for a solution to overturn this deficit and warrant their title-contending credentials.

The main man is finally on. Jamie Vardy replaces Dennis Praet, in an attempt by Rodgers to mount more threat in the final third.

Looks like Leicester have changed their formation to a 4-4-2. The Foxes need to try find the key to unlocking Palaces stubborn defence.

The midfield of Palace, in the first-half, was too narrow. Hodgson has changed that in this second-half, and the positives of that change have shone through.

Wilfried Zaha finishes the chance that he initiated! What a brilliantly worked counterattacking passage!

Zaha exploded into action when he saw the opportunity to dart forward on the counter, passes the ball to Townsend, who fires it over the Foxes defence into Zaha's shot.

Schmeichel will be disappointed that he was beaten at his near post...

Zaha's clever run to peel around the back unnoticed was brilliant! 

Choudhury, who has struggled in the early periods of the second-half, is replaced by Youri Tielemans.

Rodgers will hope he can regain the control of the midfield with his instrumental midfielder making the difference.

Not sure whether the Eagles had protein shakes at half time, or Hodgson has produced an inspirational speech, but Leicester now find themselves struggling in a game they should have been leading in.

The first card is shown for Leicester, it is Hamza Choudhury who goes in the book.

Crystal Palace are a yard sharper all of a sudden, they're winning the midfield battle... a rarity.

Much better from Palace in the early stages of the restart, Zaha is played in on the edge by Benteke, but his shot is fired over.

Palace fancy their chances on the front foot, and they have come out of the blocks quicker so far.

No changes at halftime, and we go again at Selhurst Park with the score still 0-0.

With Jamie Vardy on the pitch instead of Iheanacho, Leicester could have been a goal or two to the good.

Lacking confidence, the striker elect, has been given golden opportunities in the first segment of play. 

It is with certainty that a lot of FPL managers across the country are hoping Vardy comes off the bench to continue his form in the capital...

 

No goal to show for Leicester's first-half dominance, Hodgson will be the happier of the two bosses.

Out of possession there has been a massive improvement to Palace in comparison to recent weeks. However, in possesion, they need to move the ball more effectively from defence through midfield to attack.

Iheanacho has been wasteful in the final third... on another day, Leicester would be 1-0 up.

Rodgers halftime team talk will revolve around making the most of their freedom of width, while Hodgson will opt to rectify the lack of confidence shown on the ball.

Just another minute for Hodgson to keep the valuable first-half clean sheet.

Palace seem to have had more possession as of late, but it doesn't look like anything dramatic will happen from now until halftime. The ball is being moved in the centre of the pitch rather than either final third.

It has been a while since the Eagles have kept possession, the Foxes are finding space on the wings.

0-0 at halftime would be a good result for Hodgson and his men, but more confidence on the ball is definitely needed.

Leicester could, and probably should, be leading with the stats of the first-half.

Conceded by Schlupp, deep into the Palace defence, Leicester have a chance to load the box.

The ball sails past Guiata's goal but a corner is given.

The wingbacks of Leicester aren't as high up as Liverpool's last time out at Selhurst Park, giving Palace more defensive control.

However, they need to keep the ball more to have a chance of getting something from this game.

Benteke and Zaha aren't holding the ball up to aid Palace's attacking efforts.

Lots of possession and domination on the half hour mark by Leicester City.

The type of chance that Vardy would have jumped at! Iheanacho diverts a golden opportunity off his shoulder and into the stands.

Chances are coming for Leicester but they don't look as clinical without their main man in the team.

Schlupp finds himself on the left flank and navigates a ball into the path of Townsend in the centre.

His anguished look following his misfire highlights how good of an opportunity that was.

Palace breaking well but getting overridden in midfield.

An interesting midfield battle is taking shape between Milivojevic of Palace, and Choudhury of Leicester.

The home side are winning the ball back high up, but they can't seem to make the most of their irregular spells of possession.

Wilfried Zaha picked up the ball on the edge of the box and drives forward into a box swamped by Leicester defenders.

The attacker loses his footing and wins a corner which comes to nothing following a Benteke header.

Vicente Guaita saves a stuttered penalty from Iheanacho, the keeper dived diligently to his left and parries it wide.

A disappointed Iheanacho will not be happy with this one...

Hodgson's side is holding on to their clean sheet!

Thomas is having a lot of joy down the Palace right, and it earns them a penalty.

Tomkins brings down Thomas after his burst of pace got past the senior defender.

Leicester stretch the defence of Palace and earn themselves a corner from a pass that cannoned off a defender.

Riedewald deals with it.

Despite Palace's well drilled blocks of four, Leicester seem to be finding space.

Ayoze Perez could have profited from a Thomas cross if he had gained more purchase on the attempt.

The high line in the Leicester defence was exposed by a run from Zaha, but he was clearly offside. 

Have to feel that the pace of Zaha and Benteke could aid Palace's attacking attempts this afternoon.

A problem in recent weeks has been Palace's midfield line-up. It seems as though there's more bodies in the centre of that team today, a clear improvement.

Both Townsend and Schlupp are helping with the defence as well as the attack.

As expected, Brendan Rogers' side is enjoying the  early possession, knocking the ball around the two-man midfield of the Eagles.

 

A speedy turn from Iheanacho forces a tackle from Palace early on to gift the visitors a corner.

Nothing comes from it...

The game here is underway! Let's hope it's a good one to get game week 16 off to a tasty start!

Palace in their usual red and blue, while Leicester are in their white strip

 

Really exciting affair coming right up! 

Don't forget to stay tuned here at VAVEL UK!

This game is very difficult to predict. Crystal Palace aren't in the greatest form, but the rotation that Rodgers has given his side begs the question of how good Leicester's depth is...

Lots of talk about Hodgson ahead of this game, a long-serving manager with lots of experience, he has never fallen out of love with management.

Despite the talk around his departure come the end of the season, credit is due for the Eagles' boss.

 

There's relief among the Eagles fans today as they finally get their Christmas wish of dropping Patrick Van Aanholt. Furthermore, Jairo Riedewald starts, a popular figure in the South London camp.

Meanwhile, Leicester start without Jamie Vardy, James Maddison, and Youri Tielemans.

Hodgson will hope he can capitalise on a much changed opponent upon the 3pm kickoff. 

 

 

The game is live on Amazon Prime, with kick-off scheduled for 15:00 on Monday afternoon. If you want to follow it online, VAVEL UK is your best option!

He said: “Of course it is their first game back since that (defeat to Liverpool). They were clearly playing against Liverpool on the top of their game. We probably won’t look too much into that, neither will the players. “They will look to get back and get three points against us. I don’t think it will have any indication for how it will be going forward. “We have done OK away from home, we’ve won six of our seven games. We take each game, we’ll look at Palace and look to see if we can get a result.”

Hodgson said: "You can always lose two games in a row in this league. I don’t think I’m that concerned that we are a particularly inconsistent team that don’t have a clear idea of what they should be doing. But it’s a question of results, and the last two results have been very bad ones. "Somehow we’ve got to find the mental strength to make certain that, when we go out and play Leicester, we ask more questions and cause more problems than we were able to against Villa. "We really need to get back to a level that we showed quite early on in the season that has been missing – I don’t want to say for two games because Liverpool was very special – but certainly (against Villa).”

Crystal Palace (4-4-2): Guaita; Van Aanholt, Dann, Kouyate, Clyne; Schlupp, Riedewald, McArthur, Eze; Benteke, Zaha. Leicester City (4-3-3): Schmeichel; Thomas, Soyuncu, Fofana, Justin; Mendy, Praet, Maddison; Perez, Barnes, Iheanacho.

Brendan Rodgers has hinted at rotation for a second match in three days. But the Leicester boss has no injury concerns.

Crystal Palace could still be without Gary Cahill (hamstring) but Roy Hodgson otherwise has no injury concerns.

Crystal Palace have suffered two defeats in their last two, conceding 10 with no reply. If the Eagles are to pick up all three points today, it will be the first time they have won their last game of the calendar year since 2011.

Leicester City have won their last two Premier League matches in London, beating Arsenal 1-0 and Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 this season and could claim three consecutive top-flight wins in the capital for the first time since April 1966. Jamie Vardy has 19 goals in his last 19 Premier League away matches and has scored nine times in his last 12 Premier League appearances in London, including winners at Spurs and Arsenal this season.

Leicester City vs Crystal Palace will be played at the Selhurst Park, in London, England. The kick-off is scheduled for 15:00 GMT.

Welcome to VAVEL UK's LIVE coverage of the 2020/21 Premier League match: Crystal Palace vs Leicester City!

My name is Robin Mumford and I'll be your host for this game.

We will provide you with pre-game analysis, roster updates and news as it happens live here on VAVEL.com.