Crystal Palace are in trouble.

Having sacked former manager Alan Pardew after a poor run of form and subsequently hurried to appoint disgraced former England boss Sam Allardyce, the Eagles have far from soared under the new personnel and find themselves second bottom of the Premier League table - only above bottom side Sunderland on goal difference.

Having invested in a number of players over the summer, including striker Christian Benteke, Andros Townsend, Steve Mandanda and Loic Remy, many expected Palace to be challenging to break into the top half of the table rather than scrapping for their top flight lives.

Stoke on the other hand have gone about their business rather quietly this season, and sit comfortably in their usual mid-table spot of 11th. The Potters are, however, without a win in three and will be hoping to change that this weekend.

All is set for an interesting clash, with both sides looking to turn the tables on their recent poor form. Here are the three battles that could decide the 3pm clash at the Bet365 Stadium.

Christian Benteke vs. Ryan Shawcross

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For all of Crystal Palace's woes this season, it is hard to criticise Christian Benteke, as the Belgian has done what he came into the club to do 0 score goals. He has 11 this season and if he can get to 20 by the end of May, he will almost certainly be deemed a successful signing.

Big, strong and fantastic in the air, Benteke will come up against sturdy opposition in Ryan Shawcross, who is bound to give as good as he gets physically when trying to keep the striker quiet.

The physical prowess of both striker and defender makes for an interesting match-up, but Shawcross will need to ensure he keeps his hands to himself while at the task - the Englishman has a tendency to get carried away when marking big men, especially from set pieces.

Saido Berahino vs. Mamadou Sakho

Two January signings both looking to prove a point, Saido Berahino because of the potentially career-ending paddy he threw at former club West Brom, which saw him go from hero to zero in the Midlands. The striker should count himself lucky Stoke boss Mark Hughes has given him a shot at redemption.

For Mamadou Sakho, it is about his pride. After being falsely accused of taking a banned substance, the Frenchman was then isolated from the Liverpool squad during pre-season and hence was loaned to Palace last month. The former PSG defender will be keen to prove he still has what it takes to succeed at Liverpool by putting in performances to keep the Eagles up.

Wilfried Zaha vs. Eric Pieters

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Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha celebrates scoring their second goal 
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Palace undoubtedly missed Wilfried Zaha while their star winger shot off to the Africa Cup of Nations to represent the Ivory Coast. Without him, Sam Allardyce's side lack that burst of pace and excitement down the right-hand side, which more often than not causes defenders all sort of trouble.

His quick feet and pace make him a difficult prospect to deal with, however Zaha seems to have added a final product to his play too this season, making him all the more dangerous.

The winger will certainly be keen to get back to the sort of form he showed before leaving for AFCON and thus Eric Pieters will have his work cut out trying and keep him quiet.