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After he scored his first goal in red and blue in 799 days against Tottenham, as per ITV, Connor Wickham is surely more likely to start ahead of Christian Benteke for Crystal Palace against Southampton on Wednesday, but the big Belgian’s skill-set is precisely what the Eagles need if they are to succeed at St Mary’s.
On the chalkboard
Until a few weeks ago, Roy Hodgson had just Ayew and the recently-loaned out Alexander Sorloth as natural strikers to choose from – some may argue the former is not suited to playing there, though – and, more often than not, the 71-year-old would opt for a fluid partnership of Andros Townsend and Wilfried Zaha up front.
Townsend showed during his side’s 2-0 FA Cup victory on Sunday that he is becoming adept at arriving in the box to take a shot at goal – indeed, the journeyman winger is the Eagles’ top scorer, with seven to his name in all competitions, as per Transfermarkt – but Zaha doesn’t seem to thrive in such a role.
The timely returns, though, of Benteke and Wickham mean that Hodgson finally has some depth up front; the former England boss’ new-found luxury means he can approach a game in many different ways but there is one clear, perfect choice to tackle Ralph Hassenhuttl’s men.
Big Ben
While he may have struggled to find a lethal touch this campaign and the one previous, there is no debating 28-year-old Benteke’s physical and aerial ability. The former Aston Villa striker is one of the most dominant hitmen in the league – as long as the ball is off the ground, that is.
Southampton might have been reinvigorated by Hughes’ departure and Hassenhuttl’s subsequent arrival, but question marks still remain over the defence in terms of their positioning and ability to deal with crosses – 6-foot-3 Benteke can capitalise on this if supplied well by Palace’s threatening wide-men and, while he may not break his scoring duck, will prove a handful for the Saints’ back-three.
It’s also evident that Zaha loves having the number 17 in the team – the speedster currently does most of his side’s hold up play but would be relieved of such duties if Benteke starts – and would perhaps find himself running at full-backs a lot more often.
The Ivorian is one of the most dangerous players in the league when he gets into full flow but such a sight has been a commodity this season as he is shifted out of position – will Wednesday be the return of the partnership that was so effective in the 2016/17 season?
Which player with “no potential” has just been named Crystal Palace’s worst ever January signing? Find out in the video above…
