Mark Lawrenson
Ex-Liverpool defender

Newcastle started off defending deep in their defeat by Chelsea and then got even deeper.

The Magpies had the odd opportunity but it was an extremely poor display from them. Callum Wilson could be fit to return up front this weekend, but they still need to create far more chances than they have been.

Crystal Palace were not great either, and they really missed Wilfried Zaha. Whenever he's back after testing positive for coronavirus, he will make a big difference.

Prediction: 2-1

Lawro's full predictions v Maximo Park frontman Paul Smith

I think it would be fair to say that hopes are not high for this game at Selhurst Park.

We shouldn't be so judgmental, though. Things you assume are going to be rubbish sometimes turn out to brilliant. This match could be The Queen's Gambit of Premier League encounters.

There will be a very apt minute of applause before all of this weekend's Premier League games, starting with tonight, for Diego Maradona.

Players and officials will also wear black armbands.

Finally, if you want to get a sense of just what Maradona meant to the people of Argentina, you need only see the gathering of fans at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires, who are paying their final respects to football legend Diego Maradona.

Three days of national mourning have begun after the national hero died of a heart attack on Wednesday, aged 60.

We also have Maradona's life in pictures, an obituary of the flawed icon and the reaction at Napoli, for whom he played so superbly for many seasons.

Also, you can watch all of his World Cup goals below...

Tim Vickery
BBC Sport South American football expert

In the history of football's World Cup, it is arguable that no player has ever hit the heights achieved by Argentina's Diego Maradona in 1986.

Brazil's Pele, usually seen as Maradona's rival in the quest to be considered the best ever, won the competition three times surrounded by colleagues of outstanding quality.

But many football fans would struggle to name many of Maradona's team-mates from 1986.

In game after game in the Mexican sunshine Maradona was an individual genius and a collective strategist.

Read more of South American football expert Tim Vickery's take on how tormenting England made Maradona a deity.

Guillem Balague
Spanish football journalist

It was less than a month ago that I wrote how Diego Maradona had, against all odds, reached his 60th birthday. A day, I suggested, many had doubted this most complex of men would see.

As we mourn his passing, it seems almost irrelevant to say that we could all see this coming, that we knew his body was gradually giving up, and his mind was beginning to struggle, because somehow where Diego Armando Maradona was concerned, the normal rules never seemed to apply.

As much as I thought I knew Maradona, I realised once I began to research my book on him that I knew virtually nothing.

Read more of Guillem Balague's fine words on Maradona here.

Image source, Getty Images

It has been a rough week for football, with the death of arguably the finest player ever to partake in the sport - Diego Maradona.

The former Argentina attacking midfielder and manager, who was captain when Argentina won the 1986 World Cup, scoring the famous 'Hand of God' goal against England in the quarter-finals, suffered a heart attack at his Buenos Aires home. He was 60 years old.

We've endeavoured this week to provide you with as much content as we can to help you understand just how important Maradona was to the game and to his home country.

The game at Selhurst Park is not the only football you can enjoy tonight. There is also a whole match from the FA Cup and it is only live on BBC telly.

National League North's Brackley take on the side ranked 56 places above them in the football ladder - League Two Tranmere, live on BBC Two.

You can follow that game very shortly on this very site.

And you can find out everything you need to know about the FA Cup second round here.

There are also a couple of women's international matches, involving Scotland (which you can follow here) and Northern Ireland (here).

OK, I appreciate there is slightly sneery tone to what I'm saying here, born out of some misguided ideal of how I prefer football be played. But the beauty of the game is that there is no right or wrong way to play, just opinion. And both Palace and Newcastle can quite rightly point to the fact that their approach this season has yielded some results.

They are both currently well clear of the bottom three - which many pundits suggested they would be flirting with from the off - with 13 points (Palace) and 11 points (Newcastle) to their name.

In contrast, Manchester City have had an average possession in games of 62.57% - the highest in the division. Their points haul? 12.

So, yeah, tonight presents us with the football equivalent of two people stood by a door, each insisting the other go first. It's the reluctant object versus the unwilling force.

However, unless they expect the ref to practice his keepy uppies for a while, someone is going to have to buck the trend of their season and take ownership of the football.

Could Newcastle's more positive team selection suggest they intend to do just that?

No Wilfried Zaha again for Crystal Palace as he continues to isolate following his positive Covid test. They make two changes from the side that lost 1-0 to Burnley with Gary Cahill returning in the centre of defence and forward Jeffrey Schlupp coming into the side. It looks like Cheikhou Kouyaté will move forward into midfield.

Jairo Riedewald and Michy Batshuayi drop to the bench.

Image source, .

More positive striker news for Newcastle, who welcome back top scorer Callum Wilson from injury. Positive is the operative word, with the former Bournemouth man partnering Joelinton up top.

There is no Allan Saint-Maximin or Jamal Lascelles in the squad because of injury but Jonjo Shelvey is fit again and starts, with the captain's armband. Jeff Hendrick and Miguel Almiron are also in the XI, with Jacob Murphy on the bench.

Image source, .

Before we get our teeth stuck into this, let's get the team news, hot off the press...

Image source, Getty Images

Crystal Palace. Average possession during 2020-21: 37.8. The lowest in the Premier League.

Newcastle United. Average possession during 2020-21: 38.49. The second lowest in the Premier League.

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the 'well, we don't want it... here, you have it' derby.