Crystal Palace Special! MOTD Kickabout

Yes, we're out of the studio this

week and on the road

at a Premier League club.

They have turned things around

after a tricky start and are now

hoping for a sixth successive season

in the top flight.

Yes, footy fans, I am

talking Crystal Palace.

Let's do this.

MATCH OF THE DAY THEME MUSIC.

Good morning and welcome

to a very special Kickabout,

coming to you from Selhurst Park,

the home of Crystal Palace.

It is fair to say that it wasn't

an easy start to the season

for the Eagles last year,

as they became the first team in 129

years of the football league

to lose their first-ever matches

without scoring a goal,

leaving them bottom without a point.

Ouch!

It was a run that saw Frank de Boer

sacked after only four league games

and replaced by Roy Hodgson,

who has since turned it around

and pushed Palace back up the table.

I am here with a Palace-packed

special, so here's what's coming up.

We go behind the scenes

at Selhurst Park and look

ahead to this weekend's

Premier League fixtures.

Superstar Palace midfielder

Yohan Cabaye answers questions

from these young super fans.

And find out who won

this week's Top Tekkers,

between these two top players.

Loads to look forward to, but first,

let's check out the stories making

the headlines in the footy

world this week.

Swansea City reached

the FA Cup quarterfinals

for the first time since 1964,

after beating Sheffield Wednesday

2-0 at the Liberty Stadium

on Tuesday night.

With goals from Jordan

Ayew and Nathan Dyer.

While Spurs survived a scare

against Rochdale in their replay,

as they hammered the league one

opposition 6-1, with Llorente

scoring a 12 minute hat-trick

in the early second half.

MSV Duisburg goalkeeper Mark Flekken

suffered a nightmare blunder this

week when he turned his back on play

and conceded a goal.

The keeper thought his team had

scored, so headed for a quick

drink before the restart,

but the effort was disallowed

and the opposition counter-attacked

to leave him red-faced.

It was goals galore for the England

women on Thursday night as they beat

France 4-1 in the She Believes Cup.

Goals from Toni Duggan,

Jill Scott and Jodie Taylor helped

to give Phil Neville the perfect

start to his reign as head coach.

Their next game is against

Germany on Sunday, so good

luck to the Lionesses.

Now, we couldn't have a Palace

special without featuring some very

special Palace superfans.

Harry and Bella are joining me.

How are you doing, guys?

Good.

Good.

Brilliant.

I hear you are massive fans

of the Eagles, is that right?

Yep.

What is it you love so much

about this amazing club?

I love the atmosphere that the fans

create and all the mascots,

with the American bald eagle flying

across the pitch.

I love the food,

the food is great here.

The food, the food.

I love that.

Now we're here at Selhurst Park,

do you think you could show me

around and tell me a bit more?

Yeah.

Let's do it, come on.

Our club is more than 110 years old.

It was founded all

the way back in 1905.

Crystal Palace is actually named

after a big glass building

built nearby in 1854.

It was actually burned down,

but the name stuck.

Our club badge shows

an eagle holding a ball.

This is why we have

the nickname Eagles.

Before every home match,

our club mascot, Kayla,

an American bald eagle,

flies from one end of

the stadium to the other.

This is our fifth season

in the Premier League in a row.

And we hope that Roy Hodgson

will keep us up again.

We have got to the FA

Cup Final twice, once

in 1990 and once in 2016.

Jesse Lingard!

We got beaten both times.

In 2016, Man United beat us

in the FA Cup final.

We were gutted.

I was there, and the

atmosphere was amazing.

Our keeper Julian Speroni has played

for us for over 14 years,

and he's made over 400 appearances.

We play in red and blue,

but it hasn't always been that way.

We used to play in black and white,

inspired by Real Madrid.

Our most expensive player

is Christian Benteke.

He was signed from

Liverpool for 32 million.

Last season, he scored 15 goals

in the Premier League.

Benteke heads it down and in!

In the past, we have

shared Selhurst Park

with Charlton and Wimbledon.

We even have our own

supermarket built into it.

Our stadium holds 26,000 fans.

It can get pretty noisy

in here on match day.

We sit here.

This is the main stand.

One of our favourite chants is,

we support the Palace,

the Palace, the Palace.

And that's the way we like it!

Thanks, guys, what a history!

And some top facts there.

Now, sticking with superfans,

you guys at home have been sending

in some fantastic footy photos again

this week, so let's check them out.

in some fantastic footy photos again

this week, so let's check them out.

Here is Lewis with our very

own Ben Shires at half-time

just before his team,

the mighty Wigan Athletic,

beat Manchester City in the FA Cup.

What a game that must

have been for you!

Look at Ben's bedroom.

He is a season ticket holder at QPR,

plays for Taplow United

and as you can tell from this

picture, is a huge footy fan.

Check out Georgia's FA Cup

sign that she held up

during Sheffield United's

game against Preston.

And guess what, Billy Sharp

gave her his shirt.

Nice one, guys.

Georgia plays for Handsworth Girls

under nines and wears

the number ten shirt,

just like her Sheffield United idol.

And finally, Ben won player

of the week for scoring

during his first ever match.

What a debut!

Fantastic photos as usual,

please do keep sending them in,

as we love featuring

you on the show.

Just head to the Kickabout website

for all the details as to how

you can get involved.

As you can see, we have made it

to Palace's first-team training

ground, as I have a very special

treat lined up for you two.

Ready?

Yeah.

Let's go.

Bella, Harry, meet Yohan Cabaye.

Hi!

Right, it's freezing out there,

you've just finished training.

Let's go inside.

What were you like as a player

at our age and did you always

know you wanted to be

a professional footballer?

At your age, I was in France.

I was watching every game on TV.

My dad also was involved

with football, not

professional, but amateur.

So I was with him every weekend.

As I was growing up,

yeah, I was thinking,

of course to play football

and to be a footballer.

What is it like to play

in front of a loud crowd?

Very good.

I enjoy it.

It's massive help for us,

it's like 12 men on the pitch,

Their support is brilliant,

has been brilliant

since my first day.

We just need to give them back

what they give to us.

Do you have an idol?

The French player, for me,

was Zinedine Zidane.

For me, the best player at his time

and best French player at all.

Zidane!

It's three!

And they're into the quarterfinals

of the World Cup!

What has been the highlight

of your time at Palace so far?

I would say the FA Cup.

The FA Cup campaign,

and the semi and also

the final at Wembley,

that was unbelievable.

The atmosphere, everything,

and we were close to the trophy,

so it was, yeah, a very good time

for me, the best time at the club.

Here's Puncheon.

That was well collected.

And brilliantly finished!

It was Jason Puncheon's time to make

a massive mark in the cup

final for Crystal Palace.

You take a lot of penalties.

Do you enjoy taking them or is it

really nerve-racking?

I would say both.

Yes, I enjoy to take them,

because it's a good

opportunity to score,

but also, it's a game

between you and a keeper

and when you take a lot

of penalties, they learn you,

so you have to be creative

and change the way you take them.

If you were not playing football,

what would you like to do as a job?

I just wanted to be an architect.

I know it's weird, but yeah.

Creative.

I love houses.

Who is the toughest player

you have played against?

Yaya Toure.

He is a fantastic footballer.

He plays less now, but I remember

a couple of seasons ago,

he was amazing and really hard

to play against.

Yohan Cabaye, it's been amazing

having you on Kickabout.

Thanks very much.

Brilliant.

Harry and Bella, you're going to be

putting me out of a job.

And Yohan, what a top guy he was.

Thanks for that, you lot.

Looking ahead to this weekend,

there are some exciting fixtures.

Yohan and his team-mates

have a huge game Monday night.

They face Manchester United

here at Selhurst Park.

But past records don't bode

well for Eagles fans.

As Palace haven't won any

of their 17 Premier League

meetings against the Reds.

So Bella and Harry,

you will need to cheer your team

on loudly for that one.

Elsewhere, the late kick-off today

sees Liverpool host Newcastle,

and you've got to fancy Klopp's men

as favourites for this one.

As they are unbeaten in 21 home

league games against the Magpies.

Whilst on Sunday, there is a huge

game between leaders Man City

and current champions Chelsea.

Konte's men won this

fixture 3-1 last season,

and City have only won one

of their last four home

games against the Blues.

So plenty of brilliant games to look

forward to this weekend,

and that last fixture was the focus

of this week's Top Tekkers vote.

We asked you to choose

between these two players,

so let's find out who came

out on top.

Oh, what a goal!

Absolutely brilliant

from David Silva!

This is Silva!

David Silva is fine.

It's Silva, can he chip past that?

Of course he can.

4-0.

In towards Silva, 2-0.

Silva to make it three, and he has!

This is Silva.

It's six.

Silva is charging forward,

David Silva, great first touch.

Even better second touch.

David Silva.

Silva's floating

around, what a goal!

Absolutely brilliant

from David Silva!

What a player and

what a set of goals.

Nice choice, you guys.

Looking ahead to our next

Top Tekkers vote, we want

you to choose between these two.

Anthony Martial.

Martial, brilliant goal!

Or Roberto Firmino.

And Firmino puts Liverpool 1-0 up.

Tough choice, but there

can only be one winner.

Make sure you head online

to vote for your favourite.

While you are there,

why not check out how to send

in videos of you showing

off your footy skills.

It's really easy to get involved,

and who knows, you could star

on the show very soon,

just like this lot.

Check this out for an outrageous

goal from James for FC

Bluestar under nines.

What a strike!

No wonder he's off celebrating.

And some proper teamwork here.

Anna throws the ball to Lucas,

who passes to Jasper

and then a cheeky backheel

into the goal to finish.

Huddersfield fan Charlie

here showing some serious

accuracy, kicking the ball

through his trampoline.

Oh, and he has even threw himself!

Look at this for

a volley from Joseph.

He shoots, he scores.

Theo is a big Arsenal fan and spent

most of his half term break

mastering the neck stall.

Worth the practice, Theo.

Great skills.

And finally, here is Poppy

scoring for Cambridge

Girls Development Centre.

And then manning a penalty

across a corner for the under-11s.

Double trouble for the

opposition there, Poppy.

You never disappoint

with your skills.

Thanks, you lot.

Now, I've had an amazing time

here at Selhurst Park.

Superfans to show us around,

a top-notch superstar

interview and a look

inside this amazing stadium.

For all you Eagle fans

out there, good luck

for the rest of the season.

Until next time, see you.

Townsend, he may fancy this himself.

He does!

And there goes Townsend

with a cracker!

Back to Benteke!

It's 2-1 to Crystal Palace!

Zaha.

Zaha goes on.

Oh, what a strike.

That is a thumper from Wilf Zaha!