Roy Hodgson challenges fringe Palace man to re-establish himself in starting XI - opinion

Speaking ahead of Crystal Palace’s clash with Manchester United on Wednesday, Roy Hodgson has heaped praise on Vicente Guaita, who has been an outstanding signing for the South London side since joining on a free in the summer, and also issued a challenge to back-up ‘keeper Wayne Hennessey.

What did he say?

“At the moment, Vicente has the shirt. He came in when Wayne was injured and played very well, and he’s been able to keep Wayne on the side-lines since that time.

“Wayne also had two very good games for us in the FA Cup against Spurs and Doncaster. So we’re still fully aware that he’s available and a very serious competitor for the shirt.

“But only one of them can have it, and Vicente seems to have got his hands on it – it’ll be up to Wayne to wrestle it from him.”

A challenge to Hennessey

The 71-year-old has previously seemed to have been largely nonplussed as to who starts in net, with both Hennessey and Guaita putting in solid performances when called upon, although it has to be said the latter possesses a far more assured pair of hands.

Former Getafe goalkeeper Guaita has kept five clean sheets in the Premier League while letting just six goals in when given the nod between the sticks, and his impressive form has enabled him to grasp the gloves from Wales international Hennessey – the Eagles’ previous number one.

Hennessey started the first 16 fixtures of the Premier League season but has since found himself on the fringes of the starting XI due to a combination of injury struggles and the consistent form of his goalkeeping rival.

In what is surely a challenge to the 81-cap international, Hodgson said that Guaita has the shirt at the moment and that it will be up to Hennessey to win it back.

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Whether this will be based on their training ground efforts or match efforts is unclear – as Hodgson says, the 32-year-0ld has been the Eagles’ cup ‘keeper while Guaita looks to have nailed down the starting spot in the league.

The Selhurst Park outfit are set to face Watford in the FA Cup quarter-finals next month and it will be interesting to see who Hodgson selects for this tie; surely Guaita gets the nod considering the magnitude of the clash, but maybe the former England boss will continue to keep faith in Hennessey.

from FootballFanCast.com https://ift.tt/2XrA5El