Roy Hodgson Set to Hand Crystal Palace Ace Chance to Impress in Middlesbrough Carabao Cup Tie

Max Meyer is set to start for Crystal Palace in their Carabao Cup fixture against Middlesbrough on Wednesday evening.

The midfielder has struggled to assert himself in the Eagles' midfield since his summer move from Schalke, starting just one Premier League game this season, but will get a chance to stake his claim for a regular spot against Championship outfit Boro.

According to the Evening Standard, other Palace stars who are expected to come into the team include Jason Puncheon, Jairo Riedewald, Martin Kelly, Alexander Sorloth and Jordan Ayew.

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The competition is not a priority for Palace manager Roy Hodgson, whose side have only won two of their opening ten Premier League fixtures and sit 14th in England's top flight.

Key players including Wilfried Zaha, Mamadou Sakho, James Tomkins and Luka Milivojevic will all be rested ahead of the league game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Middlesbrough boss Tony Pulis, who managed Palace from 2013 until 2014, has revealed he will make plenty of changes for the fixture, with the competition not high on his list of priorities.

He said: “I’ll make a lot of changes for the Palace game. I have to do that.

“The players have had so many games and people forget about the international break, some players have played for their countries in the heart of Europe.

“I’ll be looking at the team carefully although we want to do well and want to win the game.”

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Palace forward Ayew added: “We know we have confidence in ourselves. This Premier League is not easy but, we had a good performance [against Arsenal] and we will build on that. 

"We will see what will happen next. We have to stay positive because we played very well [in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal].”