MX23RW : Thursday, January 3 10:08:35

Roy Hodgson rubbishes suggestion that Palace and Chelsea are one-man teams

Roy Hodgson rubbishes suggestion that Palace and Chelsea are one-man teams
© Reuters
Eagles forward Wilfried Zaha and Blues star Eden Hazard have earned plenty of plaudits.

Roy Hodgson has hit back at suggestions that Crystal Palace and Chelsea are one-man teams.

The Eagles host Chelsea on Sunday with Wilfried Zaha and Eden Hazard expected to spearhead the attacks of each side.

Palace's victory over Leicester earlier this month was the first time the Eagles had won a Premier League match without Ivory Coast forward Zaha in their team for more than two years.

Chelsea, meanwhile, have relied heavily on the attacking threat of Belgium international Hazard, who has 12 goals to his name already this season.

However, Palace boss Hodgson insists there is far more to both teams.

He said: "Any accusation to a manager of a team or a player in the team that you are a one-man team would be very unwillingly accepted.

"Most of us would point out that's not the case but people still say what they want to say.

"If you're asking me do I think Chelsea are a one-man team, I don't. Or if Palace are a one-man team, then I don't.

"Each team has got good players and good players are the ones that grab the headlines. I'm pretty sure Manchester City would reject suggestions Sergio Aguero makes them a one-man team.

"If you ask do these teams have very good players capable of turning a game and making the game a successful one for them, then I'm pretty sure Maurizio Sarri and myself would be happy to say yes.

"Hazard and Wilf come into that category.

"We have a lot of unsung heroes who do not get the headlines that their performances deserve, but I don't think I am in an unusual situation with that.

"The articles and TV shows tend to single out the same star quality players, but there are a few players beneath that who deserve a bigger pat on the back than they sometimes get."

Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey and full-back Martin Kelly are back from injury and available to face the Blues.


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Olivier Giroud celebrates after opening the scoring for Chelsea in their Europa League meeting with PAOK on November 29, 2018
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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool2017304884054
2Tottenham HotspurSpurs21160546212548
3Manchester CityMan City20152354163847
4Chelsea21135338162244
5Arsenal21125446311541
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd21115543321138
7Leicester CityLeicester219482523231
8Watford218583031-129
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves218582325-229
10West Ham UnitedWest Ham218492932-328
11Everton217683131027
12Bournemouth2183103140-927
13Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton217592429-526
14Crystal Palace2164111926-722
15Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2146111529-1418
16Burnley2153132142-2118
17Cardiff CityCardiff2153131941-2218
18Southampton2137112138-1716
19Fulham2135131947-2814
20Huddersfield TownHuddersfield2124151337-2410

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