Crystal Palace have brought Roy Hodgson back to the club as they look to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

It has been two years since Hodgson, 75, last managed the team and plenty has changed even if the league position has not. His last game in charge was a 2-0 loss to Liverpool at Anfield in 2021.

In order to assess what has changed personnel-wise, let’s start with the XI he fielded in his last game.

Hodgson’s last XI (4-3-3):

Goalkeeper: Guaita

Defenders: Ward, Cahill, Tomkins, Mitchell

Midfielders: Riedewald, Kouyate, McCarthy

Forwards: Ayew, Zaha, Townsend

Only four of the starting eleven that day are no longer at the club. Andros Townsend is at Everton, Cheikhou Kouyaté was one of Nottingham Forest’s many summer signings, James McCarthy made the move north to Celtic and Gary Cahill has retired.

Luka Milivojevic was unavailable for Hodgson’s last game but was handed the captaincy by Hodgson in 2018 and remains the club captain. Jeffery Schlupp remains at Palace, scoring in their last game which they lost 4-1 to league leaders Arsenal.

READ MORE:

Four players started both Roy’s last game and Palace’s defeat to Arsenal, but there are some new names at his disposal this time around. The Eagles are yet to see the best of Odsonne Édouard, but if he was able to unlock some goalscoring form sometime soon that could be vital for the rest of the season.

There are also brand-new midfield and defensive pairings for Hodgson to utilise. Cheick Doucouré and Albert Sambi Lokonga have formed a good midfield partnership, while Marc Guehi, who will meet his new manager when he returns from England duty, and Joachim Andersen, when fit, are a talented centre-back partnership.

This is potentially exactly the reason Hodgson has been brought back to the club. While he will have a rapport and the trust of the senior players, he will bring the new manager bounce a fresh approach for the younger players, who struggled to develop towards the end of Patrick Vieira’s tenure.