Ivan Juric's Crystal Palace assignment made easier with a midfield upper-hand | OneFootball

Crystal Palace's dwindling midfield options can play into Southampton's strength at St. Mary's.

A Premier League clash involving a defeat-ridden team and a side capping off a winning hat-trick is often a boring contest. Honestly, Southampton and Crystal Palace perfectly suit this criteria but the fitness factor is about to twist things here.

Looking at Southampton, they have already taken every kind of injury stress in March. Though they had a long gap to analyse the Crystal Palace game, the Saints are still forced to leave out a few crucial squad pieces from competing at St. Mary's.

To counter-act upon that lost ground, Southampton will definitely turn to their reliable performers again to keep them in the game. But their over-dependence on those mainstays has been eased slightly by Crystal Palace's midfield shortcomings.

Southampton shouldn't worry much about handling Crystal Palace duo

According to a recent report from London World, the visitors are glancing at the growing possibility of having to play without Cheick Doucoure and Will Hughes.

According to Transfermarkt stats, the Palace duo have been ever-present contributors in Oliver Glasner's tactics and avoiding their participation is a win-win scenario for Southampton. Furthermore, no Southampton fan can forget the way they outperformed Ivan Juric's men previously in the second half despite trailing behind early.

Hence, playing a less experienced Palace midfield can provide Southampton with more fluidity and comfort needed to continuously advance near the penalty box. Consequently, their scoring chances can see a massive boost which is direly needed while compromising on defensive strength.

Still, the Wolves game must have taught Southampton to resist downplaying their rivals based on any player's unavailability. Instead, the Saints should attempt to gradually gain control of the middle of the park and then use that midfield upper-hand to their advantage.