- Maxence Lacroix fit for Crystal Palace vs West Ham
- French defender explains recent form
- Improvement on the injury front highlighted
Maxence Lacroix has spoken about the positivity within the Crystal Palace squad amid this season’s run-in, which includes tonight’s clash against West Ham United. The French defender is fit enough to start the game despite coming off injured last Thursday.
Lacroix picked up a knock in Palace’s 2-1 loss (4-2 win on aggregate) against Fiorentina. There were concerns regarding the extent of his injury but he is in Oliver Glasner’s starting lineup.
While the Eagles’ main focus for the remainder of the campaign is on the Conference League, they are still eager to end the Premier League successfully. A win over West Ham can put them in the mix for European qualification as they sit 13th, six points behind seventh-placed Brentford.
Lacroix on Palace Turnaround
Lacroix is a leader in Palace’s defence and he has stepped up following Marc Guehi’s move to Manchester City in January. He will be making his 47th appearance of the season tonight when he takes on the Hammers.
The 26-year-old was asked whether the Conference League has made it difficult to handle the fixture list. He responded during an interview with Sky Sports:
“We have a lot of games, a lot of minutes. It’s not only a group, it’s like a big family where everybody wants to fight for each other. I think it was at first a bit difficult but now we are on the way and really happy where we are.”
Palace have enjoyed an upturn in form since the turn of the year, and Lacroix pointed out the injury list is decreasing:
“It’s totally different now because we don’t have players who are injured and when you have injured players especially key players its always difficult. But now everybody is here, a bit sad about Eddie (Nketiah) and the news (season-ending injury) but the squad is full so we are ready to finish this year.”
Glasner will be eager that none of his players picks up injuries at this stage of the season. The South Londoners travel to Liverpool on Saturday (April 25th) before yet another historic game.
A trip to Ukraine to face Shakhtar Donetsk in the first leg of the Conference League semi-finals takes place next Thursday (April 30th). The thrilling debut European campaign continues, hopefully injury-free.
Opportunities to Impress
Glasner has made several changes to the team that advanced to the Conference League semi-finals in Florence. He’s gone with Jefferson Lerma and Will Hughes in midfield.
The pair replace Adam Wharton, who came off injured against Fiorentina, and Daichi Kamada. Brennan Johnson is handed a chance to try and start living up to expectations amid a poor spell with the Eagles thus far.
Jorgen Strand Larsen returns to the starting lineup in place of Jean-Philippe Mateta. The Norweigan frontman is slightly under pressure to try and reclaim a starting berth from the in-form Frenchman.
