London: Crystal Palace will need a “big, big effort” to defeat Burnley in Saturday’s Premier League clash as they aim to reach the 40-point mark and put an end to relegation concerns, manager Sam Allardyce has said.
Palace are currently 12th in the league and seven points clear of the drop zone.
“We want to beat Burnley to get over that 40-point mark and put it to bed once and for all,” said the Eagles boss.
“Three points is going to do it, I don’t think you’ll be caught on 41 points, and we want to do it ourselves, rather than rely on other clubs,” added Allardyce.
Palace defender Mamadou Sakho, who is on loan from Liverpool, picked up a knee injury during their 1-0 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.
Allardyce has ruled out the 27-year-old France international from the weekend clash at Selhurst Park, saying he requires a scan to determine the extent of the problem.
“We’re unable to say what the extent of the injury is at the moment. It didn’t look to clever the way the knee hyper-extended,” the former England boss added.
“We’ll probably have to contact Liverpool and see what the situation is depending on how serious the damage is.”
Allardyce said Damien Delaney, who replaced Sakho in the second half against Spurs, is set to feature in the central defence alongside Martin Kelly against Sean Dyche’s Burnley.
