Ipswich Vs Crystal Palace - The Opposition View

The season started with a bang, as we won the first three League fixtures, and sat proudly at the top of the table. From there on though, it was all downhill, and only a couple of weeks ago we were sitting in the relegation zone!

Two good wins, keeping a clean sheet in both, has seen us drag our way out of the zone, though there is obviously a long way to go yet. The fortunate part is that there is still almost half the season to run, and as we know in football anything can, and likely will, happen.

Palace parted company with Steve Kember in November, and though Kit Symons ran the squad for a few weeks Iain Dowie has just come to the helm. Time will tell if that is a good move, but it is an appointment.

How do you feel Ipswich are doing this season?
As always Ipswich is amongst the front runners in this League, and surely it can only be a matter of time before you are back in the Premiership once more. Whether you can stay there this time remains to be seen but, personally, I wish you all the best, except on Sunday, of course!

Who do you think are your most on form and dangerous players at the moment?

Andy Johnson obviously is the form player of the moment. With 13 goals for the season, including three in the last two games, he works very hard for the whole 90 minutes, and can be a thorn in anyone's side. Dougie Freedman has fallen out of favour recently, but must surely be due to hit a goal or two, and Neil Shipperley must be well overdue to score as well. Watch out for Wayne Routledge. Very quick and capable of turning the defence, he is an attractive player to watch.

Are there any youngsters or unsung talents in the squad we may not have heard of?

Gareth Williams is the name that immediately comes to mind. A natural goalscorer he is capable of tearing any defence to shreds, and if he scores once he is likely to net 4 or 5, just for the fun of it. Somehow doubt you need to worry about him though, as he is unlikely to feature in the game, unless Mr Dowie changes the lineup from what it has been so far this season.

How do you think both clubs will fare this season?

Ipswich should be at least in the play-offs, but whether the Premiership beckons from there for you will be determined on your abilities to play the "big game" at the right time. Somehow I think you just might miss out, but I hope you don't. As to Palace, well, another season of mid table mediocrity is about all we can look forward to, but come the next season we will all be tipping a top two finish once again!

Which Ipswich players do you feel could cause your side problems?

Perm any one, or two, of many. With players such as Shefki Kuqi, Jermaine Wright, Ian Westlake, Chris Bart-Williams, Pablo Counago and Richard Naylor in the side Palace will need to be at their best to get anything from the match.

What sort of line-up can we expect from you?

Can't see much in the way of change to the side that has won the last two games, so it should be:

- Thomas Myhre (last game before his loan expires)
- Danny Butterfield (likely to make at least one strike on goal if played out wide)
- Rob Edwards (also last game before loan expires - gee, hope we sign him!)
- Tony Popovic (Australian defender, watch for him when Palace have a corner kick)
- Gary Borrowdale (youngster that is looking promising)
- Julian Gray (wants to leave for the Premiership, but has everything to prove and nothing to lose)
- Michael Hughes (one of our better signings this year)
- Aki Riihilahti (just starting to come back into some sort of form - great on his better days)
- Andrew Johnson (man most likely to score - if we do)
- Wayne Routledge (dangerous youngster, can leave defenders for dead at times)
- Dougie Freedman (our top scorer for the past couple of seasons, and likely to come good again soon)

On the bench, pick any five (though my guess would be the first five):

- Neil Shipperley (seems to have lost his touch since coming back from Wimbledon, but could surprise)
- Cedric Berthelin (reserve keeper, likely to be back in the side once Thomas goes)
- Tommy Black (ex Arsenal youngster, can surprise sometimes)
- Curtis Fleming (coming back from injury)
- Shaun Derry (highly under rated player, could do well)
- Kit Symons (solid defender, almost got the managerial post, and should prove good in management in the near future)
- Jamie Smith (good on the ball, and may get a squad position)
- Ben Watson (another promising youngster, may be due to come back)
- Gareth Williams (may be Palace's player of the year in the next couple of seasons)

Predicted score?

I sincerely hope that I am wrong, but I can only see this as a 2-1 win to the home side (that's your lot in case you have forgotten!). Shefki Kuqi and Jermaine Wright should get the goals, with our reply coming from Shaun Derry. Hopefully there will be a good crowd on hand to witness events. I wish you all the best against West Ham on Boxing Day (that one should prove a harder match for you), and given any luck that game should wear your lot out leaving us a chance to reverse the tables on you.

Thanks to Colin from Palace-Eagles.com for the answers.