ABOUT

Crystal Palace will become the first Premier League side ever to play a match in the state of Virginia when they take on the Richmond Kickers tonight.





The Eagles have one draw and one victory from their two outings in America so far and will be looking to end the tour unbeaten.





On paper, Palace should achieve that feat, with Richmond the only non-MLS team to face Tony Pulis’ men during their Stateside stay.





But Richmond will be no pushovers. They currently lie 2nd in the USL Pro – four points behind leaders Orlando City – and are in a fantastic vein of form.





The Kickers are unbeaten in 18 matches, with their last defeat coming back on 12th April.





TEAM NEWS

Richmond Kickers: While Columbus Crew and Philadelphia Union both rested players when they came up against Palace, Richmond are likely to field a near full-strength side for what is a huge game in the club’s history.





That means English striker Matthew Delicate, who has 13 goals in 20 games this season, should again lead the line for the Kickers.





His finishing ability could be Richmond’s main hope of causing an upset at the City Stadium tonight.





Crystal Palace: Paddy McCarthy is unlikely to play after coming off with a calf injury against Philadelphia, while Jonny Williams, who sat out that game with a thigh problem, will definitely miss out.





Defensive trio Joel Ward, Scott Dann and Damien Delaney all have minor knocks and sat out training yesterday as a precaution, but all three will be considered by Tony Pulis when he names his starting 11.





Marouane Chamakh will be looking for his second consecutive start of the tour having been picked ahead of Glenn Murray for the 1-0 victory over Philadelphia on Friday, while Wayne Hennessey could be preferred in goal to Julian Speroni after the Argentine played 90 minutes at PPL Park.





TICKETS

Richmond are expecting a big turn-out for tonight’s game as the excitement around Palace’s visit grips the city.





A number of tickets do remain though and ca be purchased online HERE





MATCH COVERAGE

Follow our Twitter account @CPFC for live updates from the City Stadium commencing at midnight BST.





We’ll have a full on-the-whistle match report right here on cpfc.co.uk directly after the game, plus reaction from inside the camp online and on Palace Player.