Crystal Palace begin their quest to rise up the Premier League standings with a home game against mid-table Leeds at Selhurst Park on Sunday.

The Eagles sit in 17th place going into the latest round of fixtures after tackling four of the so-called 'big six' in their opening seven matches.

Patrick Vieira's side now face seven-straight games against teams in the bottom half of the table in the run-up to the World Cup and will be targeting maximum points in all of them.

Palace started brightly once more in last weekend's 2-1 defeat to Chelsea, but have become prone to letting advantages slip this season.

Visitors Leeds have lost their way since outplaying Chelsea at Elland Road in August, collecting just two points from their following four matches, and they had to batten down the hatches after being reduced to 10 men against Aston Villa last Sunday.

Crystal Palace vs Leeds (Sunday, 2pm)

Team news

Palace will be without Nathaniel Clyne, who suffered an ankle injury against Chelsea, but Joachim Anderson, who picked up a calf issue in training last week, has not been ruled out.

Vieira said that the Denmark international has trained over the last couple of days and is "looking good".

James Tomkins is the other candidate to start alongside Marc Guehi in central defence with Joel Ward shuffling over to fill in at right-back.

Vieira's bold set-up against Chelsea included both Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze ahead of Cheick Doucoure in midfield, but Jeffrey Schlupp remains an option to come in if the Frenchman decides to go with a more solid look.

Jordan Ayew could also be shifted around to suit Vieira's tactical idea, but he seems most likely to stay out on the flank in a front three comprising Wilfried Zaha and, after his goal against Chelsea last weekend, Odsonne Edouard.

Jack Butland, Nathan Ferguson and James McArthur — all yet to feature this season — remain unavailable.

Leeds will be without summer signing Luis Sinisterra after the Colombian saw red against Aston Villa last weekend.

Crysencio Summerville and Wilfried Gnonto are among the like-for-like replacements available to head coach Jesse Marsch, who indicated the Italian is most likely to come into the fold.

Patrick Bamford, who did not start against Villa after sustaining a knock in the build-up to the clash, may return to the XI alongside Rodrigo and Jack Harrison in attack, with Mateusz Klich another option to bolster the midfield if Marsch goes another way.

Stuart Dallas underwent a small procedure this week and is deemed a couple of months away from a return, while Adam Forshaw is a month away from recovering from his hernia operation.

The stats

Crystal Palace have dropped 13 points from winning positions across their last nine games in the Premier League.

The Eagles have scored the first goal in four of their last six league fixtures, conceding first in one, while the other finished 0-0.

Leeds have kept just one clean sheet in their last 16 Premier League games in London (W3 D1 L12), which came via a goalless draw at Selhurst Park in April last season.

The Whites are unbeaten in their last four Premier League matches played on a Sunday, winning two and drawing two.

There were more fouls given in the goalless draw between Leeds and Aston Villa than in any other Premier League game so far this season (35).

The ball has been in play, on average, for just 50 minutes and nine seconds in Leeds' Premier League games so far this term, two minutes fewer than any other team.

Prediction

Palace played well for long spells of last week's home defeat to Chelsea and have generally been much better than their lowly league placing suggests.

Vieira has them playing some attractive football that has not always been rewarded with goals, although they have registered two more strikes than they had done at the same stage last season from a tougher fixture list.

Leeds' work rate and intensity appears to be just falling off a touch after a hectic start to the season, illustrated by Marsch's team having faced 13 shots on target in their last two games after allowing just 15 in their previous five.

The Eagles are a worthwhile favourite to take all three points on Saturday and appeal at odds of 21/20 to do the business.

And given the Whites' worrying drop-off in preventing shots on their own goal, a 1/2 quote for Palace to pepper Leeds' goal with 5+ shots on target looks playable too.