Andros Townsend: Crystal Palace ready to pull off more major scalps during horror run

Jack Rosser @JackRosser_18 October 2019

Andros Townsend has warned Crystal Palace are primed to pick up a few more scalps as they head into a horror run of games.

Starting with champions Manchester City on Saturday, the Eagles face four of the ‘big six’ across their next five games, with fourth-placed Leicester also visiting Selhurst Park during that run.

However, after back-to-back wins before the international break, as well as a significant win at Manchester United earlier in the season, Palace go into the weekend sixth in the Premier League and just two points behind Pep Guardiola’s side.

Townsend, who scored the goal of the season in a shock 3-2 win at The Etihad last term, has warned against over-excitement at Palace’s bright start, but has backed the Eagles to ride a wave of confidence and surprise a few more people in the weeks ahead.

“It’s been a very good start, but it’s important not to get carried away,” he said. “The League position at this stage doesn’t really count for anything. Until everyone has played each other once, then we can start looking at the table and see where we’re at.

“We’ve been on a good run, we’ve picked up some points, which has been unexpected of us, but now come the tough games — and it doesn’t come much tougher than City. We’re fully focused on that and, hopefully, we can pull off another few shocks in the next few games. We are fully prepared for the next run of games, which is going to be incredibly difficult, but hopefully we can keep that feelgood factor going and pick up some unexpected results.

“[During] the international break there’s been a good buzz,” he added, speaking to Premier League Productions. “Now the international boys are coming back and we’re starting to focus on the game on Saturday. We’ve played them before, we’ve beaten them before, so we know it’s going to be probably one of the toughest games of the season.”

Crystal Palace squad 2019-20 | Injuries, contracts and squad numbers

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The cornerstone of Palace’s impressive form so far has been their defensive stability, largely down to the influence of summer signing Gary Cahill.

Former Chelsea centre-half Cahill will likely continue alongside Martin Kelly at the back this weekend, with Mamadou Sakho not yet back in first-team training, while captain Luka Milivojevic returns from suspension, having missed the win at West Ham.

Predict the results for gameweek 9 in the Premier League

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