Boufal tries a shot on the turn from outside the Palace box but it lacks the power to trouble Hennessey, who catches comfortably. Game over?
90' +2
Southampton look to get forward quickly but Redmond's pass is wayward and it rolls straight into the hands of Hennessey.
90'
Palace take it short and look to hold the ball up in the corner and running down the clock seems the aim of the game for Hodgson's side now. There are three minutes of stoppage time left to play.
89'
Palace are forward on the counter-attack but the pass to play Zaha into the box is poor. The winger does brilliantly to keep possession though and rolls it into the path of Benteke, who's low strike is deflected wide for a corner.
88'
The chance for Palace to kill the game falls to Zaha inside the box, but he can only fire the bouncing ball high over the crossbar.
86'
Close! Southampton get a corner on the left wing and is it swung in towards the front post. Oriol Romeu flicks in on towards the back post and Gabbiadini is inches away from getting a foot to it.
85'
It's all Southampton now but the Palace defenders are back in numbers and well organised.
83'
A little under 10 minutes left for Southampton to find an equaliser but they are struggling for fluency in the final third.
80'
L. Milivojević has scored a goal for Crystal Palace! Assist by A. Townsend.
Andros Townsend rolls the ball to Milivojevic who curls a brilliant effort into the bottom left corner.
GOAL! Luka Milivojevic has his second shot in a matter of minutes and this time he makes no mistake, side-footing it brilliantly into the bottom left corner from outside the box after Townsend rolled the ball into his path.
79'
N. Redmond enters the game and replaces D. Tadić.
Another Palace corner, which is headed to the feet of Luka Milivojevic. The midfielder turns well to get a shot away but he can only roll it wide of the right post. The Eagles are showing much more attacking intent after that equaliser.
Dušan Tadić is replaced by Nathan Redmond is Southampton's third and final change of the night.
Minute
Description
77'
Palace earn another corner but they can only see it cleared by the Saints. They do earn themselves a free-kick on the other wing though.
75'
M. Gabbiadini enters the game and replaces P. Højbjerg.
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg is replaced by Manolo Gabbiadini.
73'
Southampton are beginning to push forward now in search of a winner. We could be set for an interesting final 15 minutes or so.
70'
S. Davis enters the game and replaces J. Ward-Prowse.
James Ward-Prowse is replaced by Steven Davis.
69'
J. McArthur has scored a goal for Crystal Palace! Assist by C. Benteke.
The corner is cleared by Southampton but Sako comes forward again, jumping two challenges before the referee blows for a free-kick on the midfielder.
Christian Benteke does well to flick the ball towards the far post for McArthur to fire into the roof of the net.
GOAL! Crystal Palace get their equaliser! The free-kick is initially cleared but it is swung back towards the right of the box by Townsend. It is then flicked over to the far post by Benteke, where James McArthur is on hand to rifle it into the roof of the net from just outside the six yard box.
68'
Sako's first involvement earns Palace a corner after a deflected shot. Can Palace make something of this?
67'
Southampton's first change of the evening is imminent as both sides are looking to breathe a little life into their game.
64'
B. Sako enters the game and replaces J. Schlupp.
Second change for Palace as Jeffrey Schlupp is replaced by Bakary Sako.
63'
Another forward move, this time for Southampton, comes to nothing after a poor final ball.
60'
Zaha has been Palace's biggest threat up front so far but he is being well marshalled by this Southampton defence. There has been nothing to suggest so far that the Eagles can snatch a goal.
57'
T. Fosu-Mensah gets yellow.
Timothy Fosu-Mensah is booked for pulling down Boufal as he tried to break towards the Palace box.
54'
It hasn't been the most entertaining opening 10 minutes in this second half. Neither side are offering much in attack and both are struggling to retain any meaningful possession.
51'
Poor final ball once again from Palace. Pied has acres of space on the right wing to deliver, but can only swing it high, high over the bar and out of play.
48'
Very much a midfield battle here in the opening stages of this first half. Neither side are looking in control.
46'
P. van Aanholt enters the game and replaces Y. Cabaye.
Yohan Cabaye is off at half-time due to injury. Patrick van Aanholt comes in to replace him.
We're back underway!
45'
The fourth official has indicated two minutes of additional time.
44'
Tadic spots Hennessey off his line and tries an long ranged effort from the right wing, which flies high and wide.
42'
Southampton struggle to clear the corner but do eventually get it away. Palace ending the half strongly here.
41'
Better from the Eagles as Zaha latches onto Benteke's flick on and drives into the box. His effort towards the back post is well blocked but Palace earn a corner.
38'
Crystal Palace are lacking the final pass to break through this Southampton defence so far. It has been a comfortable night so far for Pellegrino's men.
35'
The game has gone a little tame as neither side are able to create any real clear cut chances.
33'
Unlucky for Southampton as a cross from the right wing is deflected into the path of Boufal. The winger slipped just has he went to strike the ball, meaning he could only direct it harmlessly into the side netting.
30'
Townsend unleashes a bouncing effort from 25 yards which Hennessey gets a hand to. The following corner is comfortably dealt with by Southampton.
28'
Still all Southampton here as Palace look to catch them on the counter-attack. Roy Hodgsons's side will certainly need to show more attacking intent if they are going to find a way back into the tie.
25'
Southampton work some space inside the Palace box again as Long's pass finds Tadic, who does well to turn into space. He opts to pull it back instead of shooting though but can only find a Palace shirt.
22'
A rare surge forward as the ball suddenly breaks for Wilfried Zaha. He slots it into the feet of Christian Benteke on the edge of the box but the Belgian international takes a little too long on the ball, allowing Southampton to clear.
20'
Palace are being forced back towards the edge of their own box now as the Saints search for a quick second. The away side haven't really got their forwards involved much so far.
17'
S. Long has scored a goal for Southampton! Assist by J. Pied.
Jérémy Pied fires in an inviting low cross towards Long, who has plenty of space to place a curling effort into the far corner.
GOAL! Southampton have been the better side so far and they have got their goal.Shane Long meets Jeremy Pied's inviting low cross with a curling right-footed effort from inside the box, firing it into the far corner.
16'
Another Southampton corner as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg fires a powerful effort on goal, which Wayne Hennessey has to stretch to tip over the bar. The corner again, comes to nothing.
15'
The corner looks like something off the training ground as it is rolled low into the box, but it never looks like threatening the Palace defense. Saints seeing the lions share of the possession so far in this first half.
13'
Brilliant determination from Sofiane Boufal as he loses the ball on the edge of the Palace box and chases immediately to win it back, eventually earning the Saints a corner.
12'
Palace show some steady possession as they try to work an opening through the midfield, but the Saints recover it and can build some momentum of their own.
7'
Crystal Palace fans are in fine voice as Andros Townsend fires a low effort towards goal, which is saved by McCarthy.
2'
A couple of earlier chances for the Saints as Shane Long fires over the bar, before Dusan Tadic does the same.
1'
We're underway here at St. Mary's Stadium!
Good evening and welcome to our live text commentary of today’s Premier League game between Southampton and Crystal Palace at St. Mary’s Stadium.
Southampton will begin their 2018 likely in search of a new defender, with Virgil van Dijk departing to Liverpool in a £75m deal. The Saints are winless in their previous eight games and sit only two points above the relegation places, although they put in a solid defensive display against Manchester United in their previous game, as well as having the opportunities to win the game as well.
Mauricio Pellegrino’s side will continue to be without suspended striker Charlie Austin, while defender Ryan Bertrand could potentially feature after recently recovering from a hamstring injury. Goalkeeper Alex McCarthy looks set to keep his place in goal after impressing against Manchester United when replacing the out of form Fraser Forster.
Crystal Palace became only the second side in the Premier League to take points off Manchester City this season when they held them to a goalless draw on New Year’s Eve. The draw continued an impressive run of form for the Eagles since former England manager Roy Hodgson took over, where they have suffered only one defeat in their last 10 games, a 3-2 defeat to Arsenal. Palace may only be one point above the relegation places but their form suggests that they will be looking up the table rather than below them coming into this game.
Roy Hodgson does have a list of injury concerns however, after Jason Puncheon and Scott Dann went off injured in the draw with Manchester City. They will join Mamadou Sakho and Joel Ward on the sidelines, but Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Jeffrey Schlupp and James McArthur could be in contention to return to the side after the trio missed the game with City.
There’s just over 15 minutes left to go until kick-off, so let’s have a look at how the two teams will be lining up this afternoon…
Crystal Palace substitutes: Speroni, van Aanholt, Lee Chung-yong, Souare, Sako, Delaney, Riedewald.
Southampton make two changes to the side that held Manchester United to a goalless draw, with centre-back Wesley Hoedt and left-back Sam McQueen being replaced by Ryan Bertrand and Jeremy Pied respectively, with Jack Stephens moving to a central position alongside Maya Yoshida.
Meanwhile, Crystal Palace make three changes to the side that held Manchester City. Defenders Scott Dann and Patrick van Aanholt are replaced by James Tomkins and Jeffrey Schlupp, while James McArthur returns to the side in the place of Jairo Riedewald.
The two sides are making their way out onto the pitch, with just a few minutes to go until kick-off.
HALF-TIME: SOUTHAMPTON 1-0 CRYSTAL PALACE.
Southampton lead at the break as Shane Long curled in what was the only real clear cut chance for either side in the first half. The Saints were in control for much of the half, although they were occassionally threatened by the counter-attacking prowess of Benteke and Zaha, but the Eagles were lacking the quality in the final pass to make it count. Palace did begin to grow into the game towards as half time approached and they will rightly believe they are still well in this tie ahead of the second half.
FULL-TIME: SOUTHAMPTON 1-2 CRYSTAL PALACE.
An excellent comeback for Crystal Palace means they climb for 14th, although they remain two points above the relegation places after West Ham's victory against West Brom. The Eagles responded to a disappointing first half in which Shane Long gave Southampton the lead to equaliser through James McArthur before Luka Milivojevic's curling effort from outside the box secured all three points. Southampton tried desperately to find an equaliser but it proved to be in vain as they struggled to create any meaningful chances behind a resolute Crystal Palace defence. The defeat means the Saints are now only outside the relegation zone on goal difference and have gone nine games without a win.
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