The Lowdown: City's Next Opponents, Crystal Palace
For both sides, it will be the final game of 2020, with Roy Hodgson's Palace hoping home advantage can play a part, while the Foxes will look to carry forward their excellent away record, which continued with a 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on 20 December.
Before proceedings get underway in SE19, LCFC.com takes a closer look at the Eagles' squad, manager and recent form guide...
The team
Wilfried Zaha is among the most potent threats at Roy Hodgson’s disposal and leads the way for Crystal Palace in 2020/21 in terms of goals (7) and assists (2). He is four ahead of Christian Benteke in the scoring charts, while wingers Andros Townsend and Eberechi Eze - a £16M signing from Queens Park Rangers - also have two assists to their name.
Cheikhou Kouyaté, meanwhile, is the only outfield player to have featured in every Premier League game this term, alongside goalkeeper Vicente Guaita, who has so far kept one clean sheet.
The summer transfer window saw the capture of England-capped goalkeeper Jack Butland and the arrival of 19-year-old centre-back Nathan Ferguson from West Bromwich Albion. Returning to the club were a pair of familiar faces - full-back Nathaniel Clyne started his career with Palace and rejoined on a free transfer from Liverpool, while Chelsea forward Michy Batshuayi arrived for a second loan spell.
Another full-back, Tyrick Mitchell, has made the step up from the Under-23s this season, whilst going out the door was Norway striker Alexander Sörloth, with RB Leipzig paying a reported £18M to secure his services.
The manager
Veteran manager Roy Hodgson took charge of Crystal Palace in September 2017, signing a two-year deal four games into the 2017/18 season, following the departure of Frank de Boer.
Joining with the side sitting bottom of the table, yet to score a single goal, he guided the Club to an 11th-placed finish and followed it up by recording Palace’s best-ever points total in a single Premier League campaign (49) in 2018/19.
He signed a new contract in March 2020, to keep the 73-year-old at the Club until the end of 2020/21, ahead of Palace finishing 14th, on 43 points, at the end of last season.
Hodgson actually started his playing career at Selhurst Park, coming through the ranks with the youth team, but failed to make a senior appearance before turning out for a host of Non-League sides including Tonbridge, Gravesend & Northfleet, Maidstone United and Ashford Town.
The former defender retired in 1976, leaving Carshalton Athletic to take charge of top-flight Swedish side Halmstads BK, having gained his coaching qualifications at the age of 23. In five seasons at the club, he won the Allsvenskan title twice, in 1976 and 1979, with the first achievement coming after surviving relegation on goal difference in the previous campaign.
A brief return to England in 1980 saw him become Bristol City assistant manager before taking charge himself in January 1982, only to be dismissed four months later. Three further spells at Swedish clubs followed, firstly at second-tier outfit IK Oddevold, who were relegated to the third division after Hodgson took over mid-way through the 1982 season.
A year later, he moved to Örebro SK, narrowly missing out on promotion to the Allsvenskan two seasons running, before leaving to take charge of Malmö FF in 1985. Hodgson presided over five consecutive league titles, two Swedish championships and two Swedish Cups during his time at Malmö. But arguably his greatest achievement came when the club knocked Italian champions Inter Milan out of the 1989/90 European Cup, winning the first round tie over two legs.
The Englishman moved on to Swiss side Neuchâtel Xamax in 1990, finishing third and then second in the league, in his two seasons in charge. In the 1991/92 UEFA Cup, Xamax beat Floriana and Celtic to set up a third round tie with Real Madrid and, despite winning the home leg 1–0, Hodgson’s side were knocked out following a 4–0 defeat at the Bernabéu.
He stayed in Switzerland to take control of the national team in 1992 and guided them to qualification for the 1994 FIFA World Cup - the first international tournament the country had qualified for since 1966. The Swiss finished as runners-up in their group before a 3-0 defeat to Spain in the last 16.
Qualification for UEFA EURO 96 was secured with ease, as Switzerland rose to third in the FIFA World Rankings, and Hodgson subsequently left to concentrate on his role at Inter Milan in November 1995, having been managing both for the previous two months.
Inter finished seventh at the end of Hodgson’s first season, qualifying for the UEFA Cup, having been bottom of Serie A prior to his appointment, followed by a third-placed finish in 1996/97. The club also reached the UEFA Cup Final that campaign, losing the two-legged tie against Schalke 04 on penalties.
Hodgson chose not to renew his contract at the Italian side, instead taking over at Blackburn Rovers in the summer of 1997. Hodgson guided the former Premier League champions to a sixth-placed finish and UEFA Cup qualification, winning Premier League Manager of the Month on two occasions. His second season in charge failed to repeat the successes of 1997/98 and Hodgson departed in November 1998, with Rovers bottom of the league.
In 1999, Hodgson returned to Inter, becoming technical director and then caretaker manager for a brief spell, before heading back to Switzerland to coach Grasshoppers, who he guided to a fourth-placed finish in the 1999/2000 Nationalliga A.
Hodgson took charge of Danish giants F.C. Copenhagen in 2000, winning the Superliga championship in 2000/01, the club's first championship in eight years, as well as lifting the 2001 Danish Supercup. Later that year, he moved to Serie A side Udinese, but was sacked in December, despite being in the quarter-finals of the Copa Italia and sitting ninth in Serie A.
An unsuccessful two years in charge of the United Arab Emirates was followed by a spell at Norwegian club Viking, who finished ninth and then fifth under his leadership, and also qualified for the UEFA Cup. Hodgson resigned in December 2005 to become Finland’s national team manager.
After narrowly failing to qualify for EURO 2008, Hodgson did not renew his contract at Finland and instead took over at Premier League side Fulham, in December 2007. He saved the club from relegation on the final day of the season, having been two points adrift when he took over.
The 2008/09 campaign saw the Cottagers finish seventh and qualify for the UEFA Europa League. Hodgson guided Fulham to their first-ever major European final in 2010, losing 2-1 to Atlético Madrid after extra-time. After a 12th-placed league finish, Hodgson agreed to become the new Liverpool manager in July 2010, but was only in charge for six months.
A month later, Hodgson was back in work with West Bromwich Albion, who he guided to 11th finish in the 2010/11 Premier League season, their highest league finish for 30 years. After another impressive campaign, with the Baggies finishing 10th, Hodgson was appointed as England manager, on a four-year contract.
In his first major tournament in charge, Hodgson’s side reached the quarter-finals of EURO 2012, before Italy knocked the Three Lions out on penalties. However, in 2014, England were eliminated from the World Cup at the group stage for the first time since 1958, following defeats to Italy and Uruguay.
Hodgson remained in post and England qualified for EURO 2016 having won all 10 matches, but headed out of the tournament in the last 16, beaten 2-1 by Iceland. His contract ended following the tournament and, two months later, he became the new Palace manager. Hodgson has now managed 16 different teams in eight countries.
Form guide
Prior to their Boxing Day trip to Aston Villa, a 3-0 defeat, Palace had endured a tricky spell, losing 7-0 at home to Liverpool after 1-1 draws against West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur.
The Eagles did, however, start the month in stunning style, beating West Bromwich Albion 5-1 at the Hawthorns, when both Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke netted two goals apiece.
Previous encounters
Leicester City twice triumphed against Palace in 2019/20, with an aggregate score of 5-0 across the two Premier League meetings.
Firstly at Selhurst Park, a 2-0 victory on 3 November, 2019 was sealed thanks to second-half strikes from Çağlar Söyüncü and Jamie Vardy.
Again in the reverse fixture on Filbert Way it took until the second 45 minutes for City to break Palace down, eventually winning by three goals - two scored by Vardy and the opener coming from Kelechi Iheanacho.
The trophy cabinet
The Eagles have twice won England’s second tier, in 1979 and 1994, while finishing runners-ups in 1969. They have also been promoted to the top flight via the play-offs on four occasions, 1989, 1997, 2004 and 2013, narrowly missing out in 1996 - against Leicester City.
Their trophy cabinet also holds a third tier title from 1921, a division they have finished runners-ups in four times, with the most recent of those promotions coming in 1964. Palace were second in the fourth tier in 1961, but have never won the division.
The south Londoners reached the FA Cup Final in both 1990 and 2016, but lost out on both occasions. Their most recent cup success came in the 1991 Full Members’ Cup.
The stadium
Selhurst Park has been Crystal Palace’s home since its opening in 1924 and currently has a capacity of just over 25,000 and opened during a 0-0 draw between with Sheffield Wednesday.
The stadium’s record attendance came during 1979, when 51,801 turned out for Palace’s 2–0 win over Burnley, which sealed the Second Division title. The ground holds the fourth tier record attendance from when Palace hosted Millwall in 1961, in front of 37,774 fans.
Selhurst Park also staged an international match between England and Wales in 1926, while it also hosted two games as part of the 1948 Sumer Olympics.
The stadium was shared with south London neighbours Charlton Athletic from 1985 until 1991 and by Wimbledon from 1991 until 2003. Just 3,039 saw Wimbledon’s game against Everton at Selhurst Park in January 1993 - the Premier League’s lowest-ever attendance.
The fixtures
Following Monday's fixture, Palace host Sheffield United on Saturday 2 January, 2021 (3pm kick-off) and then go to Molineux for an Emirates FA Cup Third Round clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers on Friday 8 January (7:45pm kick-off).
Back to league action, there are two London derbies upcoming versus Arsenal (A) and then West Ham United (H), with a trip to Manchester City in between.
Completing their January schedule, Palace host Wolves, facing the Midlands club for the second time in the month on Saturday 30 January (3pm kick-off).
All times GMT.