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That’s it for VAVEL UK’s live text commentary of this Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Fulham — we hope you enjoyed it. Stay tuned on the site for more live coverage and further reaction and analysis to all top flight matches this weekend.
FULL-TIME STATS
Possession: 41%-59%
Shots: 3-16
On target: 0-4
Corners: 1-3
Fouls: 10-14
FULL-TIME: CRYSTAL PALACE 0-0 FULHAM
The less said about the first half the better, but my word did it brighten up in the second, particularly for Fulham.
A flurry of chances came the way of the visitors but they didn't trouble Vicente Guaita nearly enough. Palace were perhaps fortunate not to lose this; it's a point gained for them, and very much two lost for the Cottagers.
They're still just three points off 17th, though, and now unbeaten in four consecutive league games. The hosts, meanwhile, remain 13th.92'
Cavaleiro whips an early cross into the box and Maja gets in ahead of both Cahill and Kouyate to make contact with it, but it just evades that bottom corner.
91'
Lookman's clips the set-piece onto the head of Adarabioyo but, again, it drops wide of the target.
That's the story of this match in a nutshell.
91'
Three minutes of stoppage time. Fulham have a free-kick in a good area.
88'
Reed clips a beautiful cross into the box and it lands right on the foot of Lookman lurking by the back post. He takes the volley on first time and watches as it sails just beyond the far post; the better option might have been to cut it back for Mitrovic in the middle.
That's a big, big chance gone begging for the visitors.
86'
Lookman chests down Andersen's searching pass brilliantly well and starts juggling the ball into the penalty area, but Ward steps in to clear the danger.
85'
The game's petering out a bit now; but could there still be a late winner here?
81'
A first chance in a while for the hosts sees Benteke nod Townsend's corner back across goal, but Andersen prevents Areola from having to make the save.
80' SUBSTITUTION
McCarthy comes on for Ayew as Palace attempt to weather the storm Fulham are putting them through.
77'
Cavaleiro swings in a cross towards Mitrovic who managed to wriggle his way in front of Ward, but the striker doesn't make any contact on the header and the ball trickles out for a goal-kick.
74' SUBSTITUTION
Parker makes his third and final change of the afternoon, and it's an attacking one: Mitrovic comes on for Anguissa, and Fulham effectively have five forward players on the pitch now.
69'
From the resultant corner, Adarabioyo flicks on for Andersen at the back post. He brings it down and strikes with his left foot, but Cahill blocks the effort bravely.
Moments later, Loftus-Cheek hits a volley just wide of Guaita's goal.
Palace can't contain Fulham at the moment; the visitors just need a goal to make it count.
68'
Nearly an instant impact from substitute Ivan Cavaleiro. He picks the ball up on the right and swings a great cross into Maja who found space between the two Palace centre-backs; he should probably score from a matter of yards out, but it's a brilliant save from Guaita from point-blank range.
It's been all Fulham this half, and they should really be leading.
66'
Oh, that was the best chance of the game so far.
Patient build-up from Fulham sees Loftus-Cheek supply Maja on the edge of the box. The striker turns Cahill on the spot and takes aim with his left food, but it's just agonisingly wide of that far post with Guaita beaten.
63'
Townsend whips a free-kick right into the perfect zone for someone to power a header on goal, but no one in Palace colours manages to latch onto it.
58'
Lookman flashes a cross across the face of goal, but one's there to latch on the end of it. Maja was lurking in the middle and should have gambled; he could have had an open goal there.
56'
Andersen, of all people, sends a low free-kick just wide of the post. Guaita had stepped to one side and was getting no where near it.
54'
Decordova-Reid cuts inside onto his left foot and takes aim at goal, but Riedewald heads the ball away before Guaita needs to be called into action.
Fulham are taking more shots in this half, but they're still not really troubling the Palace keeper.
51'
Lookman curls another set-piece in the box, and this time it's headed on by Adarabioyo but, once again, Guaita manages to save easily.
47'
Maja spots Guaita off his line and attempts a lob from the half-way line, but it lands straight in the goalkeeper's hands.
46'
We're back underway at Selhurst Park.
HALF-TIME SUBSTITUTION
Antonee Robinson replaces Ola Aina on the left of Fulham's defence.
HALF-TIME STATS
Possession: 39%-61%
Shots: 2-2
Shots on target: 0-0
Corners: 0-1
Fouls: 5-7
HALF-TIME: CRYSTAL PALACE 0-0 FULHAM
Not much to say about this one so far. Something needs to give in the second half.
45'
Cahill attempts to flick a set-piece on for Benteke in the box but, again, the defence clears easily.
42'
Townsend attempts to cross from the right again, but Areola claims it easily.
Bot defences have been pretty impervious thus far.
40'
I wouldn't call this first-half a snooze-fest, it's been an interesting watch in terms of how either side is approaching the game - but in terms of chances, there's not a lot going on.
35'
Once again, Lookman's cross meets the towering head of Andersen who in turn heads way over Guaita's goal.
That was a free header and he probably should have done better with it.
34'
Ayew fells Tete just off the byline and outside the box. Fulham have a free-kick in a good position now.
32'
Lookman swings a corner into the box and Andersen rises highest, but his glancing header drops just wide of the far post.
31'
Fulham are injecting a bit more pace into their attacks now; it's going to take quite something to break down this Palace defence.
27'
There's the first time we see a goalkeeper drawn into action. Townsend delivers a tantalising in-swinging cross which just evades Ayew but does come off Andersen; thankfully for Fulham, the ball lands straight in the palms of Areola.
25'
Loftus-Cheek attempts to dink a ball into Decordova-Reid in the bath, but Kouyate summons up a towering header to clear the danger.
22'
It's getting quite scrappy in midfield; both teams are probably a little frustrated with how little has happened in the match thus far, but that's testament to either defence.
18'
Cahill puts in a solid tackle to thwart Decordova-Reid and Tete's link-up down the right flank.
That's where Fulham are having most of their joy; they're managing to overload van Aanholt on Palace's left.
15'
Palace have managed to get their foot on the ball having been pegged in their own half for the opening five or ten minutes.
Both sides look very well organised so far; chances might be hard to come by in this one.
12'
Ward does well to win a foul as he's closed down by Lookman and Maja; Fulham could have had a free run at goal had they taken possession cleanly there.
9'
Van Aanhtolt searches for Benteke making a run into the box, but the striker loses control as he attempts to chest the ball down. He could have done better there.
7'
Fulham have had 63% possession so far, Palace are sitting deep and happy to let their opponents pass around their back line all day long. Again, no real chances as of yet.
3'
It's been all Fulham so far, they're pressing high and keeping the ball well, but we're yet to see the first chance of this match.
1' KICK-OFF
Fulham get us underway.
Nearly there
The teams are emerging from the tunnel, and kick-off is imminent.
Fulham line-up
Areola; Tete, Andersen, Adarabioyo, Aina; Anguissa, Reed; Decordova-Reid, Loftus-Cheek, Lookman; Maja.
Subs: Fabri, Ream, Kongolo, Robinson, Bryan, Lemina, Onomah, Cavaleiro, Mitrovic.
Crystal Palace line-up
Guaita; Ward, Kouyate, Cahill, van Aanholt; Townsend, Milivojevic, Riedewald, Eze; Ayew, Benteke.
Subs: Butland, Hannam, Kelly, Dann, Mitchell, McCarthy, Batshuayi, Mateta.
Stay tuned
That’s it for now, but the live text commentary will resume around one hour before kick-off as we bring you the team news.
How to watch
This fixture will be broadcast live on BBC One, with covering commencing at 11:45 GMT, though you can of course follow all the action as it happens right here on VAVEL UK with minute-by-minute updates on all the goings on during the match.
Scott Parker quotes
“I’ve nothing but admiration and respect for Roy [Hodgson]. I played under Roy with England, and I know the detail, and how well organised his teams are, and I think you see that in his Palace team.
“My message has been very consistent throughout this season and it remains the same: we can’t control what others are doing. We’ve all seen over the course of the season that teams who put runs together can get themselves out of positions. That’s our main focus.”
Roy Hodgson quotes
“The coaching staff and the manager, Scott [Parker], have obviously done a really good job in improving the side from the team that we met at the start of the season. If you look at the form table over the last couple of months I would think they would be right up at the top rather than at the bottom, but of course they’re playing catch-up.
“We’re looking forward to another very difficult game and we’ll have to pull out all the stops to be smiling by the end of the game.”
Predicted XIs
Crystal Palace — Guatia; Ward, Kouyate, Cahill, Mitchell; Townsend, Milivojevic, Riedewald, Eze; Benteke, Mateta.
Fulham — Areola; Aina, Andersen, Adarabioyo, Robinson; Reed, Anguissa; Cavaleiro, Loftus-Cheek, Lookman; Maja.
Fulham team news
Striker Aleksandar Mitrovic will return to Fulham’s matchday squad having missed the last three games after testing positive for coronavirus.
Club captain Tom Cairney remains on the sidelines, but he is the only injury worry for the Cottagers as things stand.
Crystal Palace team news
The hosts will be without full-back Nathaniel Clyne, who sustained an injury in training during the week.
Mamadou Sakho, James Tomkins, Jeffrey Schlupp, James McArthur and Wilfried Zaha are all long-term absentees for Palace.
Match facts
Palace’s current three-game winning streak against Fulham in the league is their longest run of consecutive wins against these opponents since 1930.
The Eagles have also scored at least twice in each of those three matches.
These two sides have only ever been in the top flight together three times, and one of them has been relegated in each of the seasons in question; Palace went down in 2004/05, while Fulham suffered the drop in 2013/14 and 2018/19.
Fulham's form
Fulham had been on a 12-game winless run in the league, stretching over two-and-a-half months, before they beat Everton on 14 February. Since then, they have slogged their way to a draw at Burnley and, crucially, beaten bottom-placed Sheffield United to increase their chances of survival immeasurably.
Their performances across the season have probably warranted more points than they have gained up to this point — now, heading into the last third of the campaign, they need to make sure they win when they deserve to, their inability to do so being the bane of their year until mid-February.
Fulham currently sit 18th in the Premier League table.
Crystal Palace's form
Palace are currently sitting just fine in mid-table, 10 points ahead of their visitors here, but they’ll want to extend that gap to eradicate any doubt about a ninth consecutive season of Premier League football at Selhurst Park.
Last time out, the Eagles defeated bitter rivals Brighton & Hove Albion thanks to a stoppage time winner from Christian Benteke. Roy Hodgson’s side were on the back foot or large spells, having just 25% possession and scoring with both of their only shots on target, but it was a dogged and clinical display which bodes well going forward.
Crystal Palace currently sit 13th in the Premier League table.
Last meeting
Crystal Palace were victorious when the sides met at Craven Cottage in October.
Strikes from Jairo Riedewald and Wilfried Zaha put the visitors in cruise control and Fulham’s afternoon was made even worse by the dismissal of Aboubakar Kamara, though Tom Cairney did fire home a spectacular consolation goal in stoppage time.
Hello and welcome!
Hello and welcome to VAVEL UK’s live text commentary of this Premier League fixture, Crystal Palace vs Fulham. Stay tuned for a comprehensive preview followed by live updates from when the match kicks off at 12:00 GMT.