Crystal Palace will be without key players Max Meyer and Luka Milivojevic as his side travel to Manchester City on Saturday, manager Roy Hodgson confirmed.
Meyer was injured last week by a tackle by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, which earned the Arsenal captain a red card.
“It [team news] doesn’t change that much. Obviously we were hoping to recover Max Meyer but that’s not been possible. So we’re one further player down.”
Hodgson on Meyer’s injury
Milivojevic meanwhile is serving a three-match suspension following a red card in the FA Cup third round against Derby County.
Hodgson delivered a positive update on Palace full-back Joel Ward, who is available for selection following a knee injury which has kept him out of action since late November.
Loan signing Cenk Tosun made his debut against Arsenal off the bench and may start against City while fellow striker Christian Benteke who missed the last few games with a muscle strain will undergo a late fitness test, according to BBC Sport.
Jeffrey Schlupp, Andros Townsend, Patrick van Aanholt, and Mamadou Sakho are all ruled out for the Eagles with long term injuries.
“Joel Ward who’s been missing for a long period, he returns. Scott Dann of course returned before the last game [Arsenal]. There are still a lot of players from the intended first-team down. The bench will be made up largely of the Under-23 squad [v Man City].”
Roy Hodgson on Palace’s injury list
Palace head into the fixture in ninth place, an impressive return given the injury problems that have plagues the squad.
City demolished Aston Villa 6-1 last time out which helped them climb over Leicester into second place while the Eagles have drawn their last three league matches by the same score of 1-1.
Palace lost 2-0 at home to City in the reverse fixture with goals from Gabriel Jesus and David Silva.
