Roy: No free hit at City

ROY HODGSON insists his side will not be fazed by what he admits is one of the most daunting of Premier League away days.

Palace head to champions Manchester City looking to avoid a third consecutive 5-0 defeat at the Etihad.

But Hodgson said: “I would be disappointed if we were going there thinking we had no chance. That won’t be us, I know.

“It’s one of the 38 games we have got to play and it’s one of the tougher ones because we know we’re against such a good team.

“The day it becomes impossible for teams like us to get results against City, the league might as well just fold up and we’ll do everything on paper.

Generous

“The game is played on grass and we are not beaten yet.”

Asked if the fixture represented a ‘free hit’ for Palace, he jokingly recalled City’s visit to Selhurst Park last season.

Hodgson said: “When they came here around about this time we managed a 0-0 draw and even gave them a ‘free hit’ of missing a penalty in the last minute, which was extremely generous of us.”

He expects his team to have more than their share of defensive work to do, although not out of choice.

He added: “Parking the bus is not an English thing to do. But most teams will find themselves penned in their own half because of City’s good play.”