'A Jekyll & Hyde Season For Crystal Palace'

- Leicester City entertain Crystal Palace at King Power Stadium on Monday (8pm BST kick-off)
- The two sides drew 1-1 at Selhurst Park earlier in the campaign, as Harvey Barnes scored
- Football.London's Joe Doyle previews the fixture, citing Palace's inconsistency
- The Eagles' record against teams in the top half of the table will give them hope, he adds

The visiting Eagles will be taking on their first Premier League game since 10 April when they meet the Foxes for the 8pm kick-off and so have had plenty of time to reflect on a 4-1 home defeat by Chelsea last time out.

Other recent performances, such as the goalless draws picked up against Everton and Manchester United, have been more promising, however, demonstrating that Palace can compete with the teams at the top end of the table.

Doyle explained to LCFC TV: "It's been an odd few weeks because Palace had three weeks off over the international break due to Manchester United being in the FA Cup Quarter-Final and now they've had another 10 days off because Southampton were playing in the FA Cup Semi-Final, so it's been very stop-start for them.

"They came back very well with a draw away at Everton and a really good performance. It was quite attacking and one of the first games in a while that they've dominated possession, but then they followed it up with an awful performance at home to Chelsea where they were 2-0 down after 10 minutes.

"It's still very much a Jekyll and Hyde season for Palace. It's not really changed from when they faced Leicester earlier in the season. They're 13th in the table for a reason, they just can't seem to put a decent run of form together consistently.

"Roy Hodgson is always keen to point out that players shouldn't need the extra motivation to win a game and to try and push your team up as high up the table as you possible can. But Palace have an ongoing situation at the moment that Hodgson is out of contract at the end of the season and probably about half of the first team squad is too.

"So quite a few players are trying to either secure a new contract at Palace or put themselves in the shop window for other clubs, who will be looking at players they can bring in on a free, and make themselves desirable for that.

Top scorer Wilfried Zaha and former Leicester City midfielder Jeff Schlupp have been identified as two of the main threats in Palace's attacking armoury, with the former netting his side's goal in the 1-1 draw against the Foxes earlier this term.

"I think they've shown in quite a few games that they are prepared to dig in, try to get what they can out of matches but they generally tend to have a better record against teams in the top half," Doyle continued. "They got a draw against Manchester United at home and beat them away earlier in the season.

"They tend to struggle against team who are more content to sit back and see what Palace can do with the ball because they are very much a team that benefits from counter attacking. They've got back great players like Wilfried Zaha and Jeff Schlupp from injury who really add something extra to the attack.

"I think the game against Leicester last time out was a little bit more trying, to grab a goal and hold out, and Leicester got a late one from Harvey Barnes and could have even gone on to win it. They'll look back on that and reflect on what they maybe could have done a bit better.

"It's coming towards the end of the season now and maybe they don't have to sit back so much. We saw that a little bit more against Everton, so a more attacking Palace is what the fans are hoping for.

"Everton was an end-to-end basketball-style game. They created loads of chances in the first half with Palace pushing on a lot more and running more on the ball and more than you tend to see. In recent months, it's been about looking for the channels and trying to get people forward."

Winger Eberechi Eze, a summer signing from Queens Park Rangers, is another player who could cause Leicester's backline concern, while at the other end, Palace's defensive injury worries have started to ease, keeping three clean sheets in their last six league games.

Doyle added: "Now you're seeing the likes of Zaha and Eberechi Eze getting on the ball more and trying to take people on. I'm not sure whether it's a conscious decision or that they've got a lot more competition for places now.

"Certain players have come back from injury. There have been times this season where they have really struggled at the back. They've still got Mamadou Sakho and James Tomkins, who have been out for months now, but they look to be coming back towards fitness to offer a bit more competition.

"And obviously he can rest the likes of Gary Cahill, who is 35 and coming towards the end of his contract and has been playing pretty much full on alongside Cheikhou Kouyaté over the last few months."

All times BST.