Crystal Palace will be without midfielder James McArthur against Manchester City, football.london’s Mark Wyatt reports.

The Lowdown: Injury problems

McArthur, labelled as 'undroppable' by Dan Cook, missed 11 Premier League games earlier in the season but made a return last month against Brentford.

He appeared to be over his injury problems after featuring in four successive league games but was missing against Wolves last weekend.

The central midfielder, who is out of contract in the summer, has joined Joel Ward and Nathan Ferguson on the injury table, and a return on Monday evening isn’t on the cards for the Scot.

The Latest: Wyatt’s report

Wyatt shared a story for football.london on Thursday evening following Patrick Vieira’s press conference earlier in the day.

He claimed that McArthur, who played a key role in the win at the Etihad back in October, won’t be available at Selhurst Park.

The Verdict: Not ideal

Palace have lost just one of their last eight games in all competitions, half of which have been without McArthur, but not having him available isn’t ideal for Vieira.

He captained the side on numerous occasions earlier in the season, so his leadership qualities could have come in handy, even it was just being part of the match-day squad.

However, Vieira will now have to rely on his other midfield options against Pep Guardiola’s side, as he looks to do the double over the defending champions.

In other news: Palace and John Textor now hit with off-field blow as news emerges.