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Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson is approaching the Premier League match against Tottenham with confidence after a strong start to the campaign.
The Eagles resume after the international break in a lofty fourth spot in the standings after wins over Manchester United and Aston Villa followed an opening-day stalemate at Everton and a loss at Sheffield United.
Palace have only conceded two goals in league action to date this season – and only scored three – and Hodgson hopes to build on both of those areas.
“The defensive record has been pretty good, the problem is at the other end and scoring goals,” Hodgson said in his pre-match press conference.
“We haven’t scored as many as we would have liked. But keeping clean sheets is important and we must work hard to get in shape and keep our shape.
Show all 21 1 /2120 players with something to prove this weekend 20 players with something to prove this weekend 20 players to watch this weekend Here are the 20 Premier League players under the spotlight this weekend.
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20 players with something to prove this weekend Danny Welbeck (Watford) The forward faces his former club, Arsenal, this weekend, in Quique Sánchez Flores’ first game back in charge of Watford. “I’m not going to allow the occasion to get into my head,” Welbeck told Watford’s website ahead of the match.
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20 players with something to prove this weekend Teemu Pukki (Norwich City) Norwich striker Teemu Pukki has been named the Premier League Player of the Month for August, having scored five goals in five games for the recently promoted club. He will be hoping to continue his hot streak when the Canaries come up against Premier League champions Manchester City.
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20 players with something to prove this weekend Marvelous Nakamba (Aston Villa) The midfielder joined Aston Villa from Club Brugge in the summer but has been held back by injury. However, this week manager Dean Smith has said Nakamba has performed well in training and is pushing for his first start.
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20 players with something to prove this weekend Jesus Vallejo (Wolves) Willy Boly's red card in Wolves' 3-2 loss to Everton means Jesus Vallejo is likely to make his Premier League debut, having joined the club on loan from Real Madrid.
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20 players with something to prove this weekend Neal Maupay (Brighton & Hove Albion) Brighton's £16m summer signing is still working to consolidate his place in Graham Potter's preferred starting XI. A goal against Burnley on Saturday would certainly help his cause.
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20 players with something to prove this weekend Lewis Cook (Bournemouth) The midfielder is yet to feature this season as he continues his comeback from knee ligament damage. But he did play sixty minutes for the club in a behind-closed-doors friendly against QPR and could yet make the first-team squad this weekend.
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20 players with something to prove this weekend Matty Longstaff (Newcastle United) Newcastle have something of an injury crisis on their hands for their trip to Liverpool, with as many as seven first-team players absent. An injury to Sean Longstaff could meanwhile see his younger brother, Matty, make Steve Bruce's travelling squad.
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20 players with something to prove this weekend Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Southampton) All eyes will be on the 24-year-old this weekend after he was challenged by manager Ralph Hasenhuttl to sign a new Southampton contract. “We are always in contact with his agent and Pierre knows about his important role for this club," the Southampton boss said.
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20 players with something to prove this weekend Ashley Barnes (Burnley) Ashley Barnes is up against his former club, Brighton, this weekend, having made a strong start to the new season. He has scored four goals in four appearances for Burnley.
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20 players with something to prove this weekend Willian (Chelsea) Willian is yet to start a competitive match under Frank Lampard but is in line to start against Wolves on Saturday. Chelsea desperate need him to hit the ground running, which will be difficult considering his lack of pre-season.
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20 players with something to prove this weekend Lys Mousset (Sheffield United) There are question marks over the fitness of David McGoldrick and Callum Robinson, who were both withdrawn from international duty recently, meaning Lys Mousset could be handed a start.
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20 players with something to prove this weekend Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur) Christian Eriksen failed to secure a move away from Spurs ahead of the European transfer deadline and will stay on in north London, although he has yet to sign a new deal with the club. "He never said he was not happy here - he always was," Mauricio Pochettino said this weekend. "I said before the Arsenal game that he was in the right mind - that's why I selected him for that game and I will continue to select him. He has always been such an important player for us and he will continue to be."
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20 players with something to prove this weekend Juan Mata (Manchester United) Manchester United's injury crisis means that Ole Gunnar Solskjær is likely to turn to the 31-year-old for the visit of Leicester City this weekend.
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20 players with something to prove this weekend Manuel Lanzini (West Ham United) Manuel Lanzini is set to start for West Ham against Aston Villa - although only rejoined his team-mates on Friday, having undertaken a 10,000-mile round trip to make a 13-minute substitute appearance for Argentina in their 4-0 win against Mexico in Texas on Wednesday.
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20 players with something to prove this weekend Michael Keane (Everton) Michael Keane is another player who will hope to shrug off the international break when he returns to domestic duty this weekend. With John Stones and Joe Gomez injured, Keane partnered Harry Maguire in England's defence, only to make a horrific individual error as Kosovo opened the scoring in Southampton on Tuesday night.
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20 players with something to prove this weekend Nicolas Pepe (Arsenal) With Alexandre Lacazette still struggling to regain fitness, Nicolas Pepe is likely to start against Watford. The 24-year-old has made a promising start to his Arsenal career: will he be able to net his first Premier League goal at Vicarage Road?
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20 players with something to prove this weekend Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace) The 28-year-old was named Crystal Palace's player of the month after scoring twice in three games for the club. He will hope to continue his scoring streak when Palace play Spurs, and given Tottenham's recent form, will surely find himself with ample opportunities on the counter-attack.
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20 players with something to prove this weekend James Maddison (Manchester United) Manchester United sniffed around James Maddison this summer, ultimately deciding against bidding for the 22-year-old. But the speculation has persisted and all eyes will be on the midfielder at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
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20 players with something to prove this weekend Kyle Walker (Manchester City) The 29-year-old was left out of Gareth Southgate's recent England squad, with Kieran Trippier and Trent Alexander-Arnold preferred. He needs a strong season if he is to regain his place in the squad ahead of Euro 2020 next summer.
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20 players with something to prove this weekend Adrian (Liverpool) Alisson has returned to light training but is unlikely to feature against Newcastle this weekend. Instead, Adrian will retain his place, and has been undertaking extra training sessions during the international break to prepare himself for the fixture.
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“If a game becomes open and (it is) who will score the most goals, we might not always come out on top.”
Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham have not won since the 3-1 victory against Villa on the opening day of the season.
Spurs are ninth in the early league standings, but Hodgson has dismissed it will work to Palace’s advantage.
“It is never a good time (to play them) – they are one of the best teams in the country,” the 72-year-old said.
“They will have a strong team, we are confident with the start we have had, and it is a question of what happens on the day. I am not sure it is ever a good time to play anyone.”
Jordan Ayew has begun the season in good form (Getty) Centre-forward Jordan Ayew scored in Palace’s win over Villa at the end of last month and was also on the scoresheet at Old Trafford, and Hodgson thinks this will stand him in good stead for the rest of the campaign.
“Jordan has done well all the time he has been here. His contribution last season was an important one, he has continued that and added two very important goals,” Hodgson added.
“Like all centre forwards, they need to point to a few goals. However good a job you do for the team, centre forwards are judged on their goal record.”
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