hodgson denies laughing guardiola palace penalty drama man city

Hodgson insists he wasn't laughing at Guardiola after a late penalty against Manchester City; Palace hopes to build on momentum.

Roy Hodgson has clarified that he was not laughing at Pep Guardiola after Crystal Palace were awarded a late penalty against Manchester City last weekend. A clip of Hodgson and Guardiola went viral on social media after the 2-2 draw, as the City manager reacted with disbelief after referee Paul Tierney pointed to the spot in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

Hodgson turned towards Guardiola and could be seen laughing, but he insisted it was not aimed at the opposing manager and was entirely unrelated. He expressed frustration with the numerous stoppages in the game to check VAR decisions, including an early challenge by Jean-Philippe Mateta on Bernardo Silva, Ederson's foul on Mateta, Rodri's disallowed goal for offside, and an assessment of whether there was a foul in the build-up to Palace's penalty. "The game was stopped. Pep was a little bit animated about that," Hodgson said.

Looking ahead to their game with arch-rivals Brighton & Hove Albion, Hodgson said Eberechi Eze could start after returning from a hamstring injury at the weekend. Goalkeeper Dean Henderson came through 90 minutes against City unscathed and is in line to start again, with Sam Johnstone still out with a calf strain. Jordan Ayew returns from his one-match suspension, and Jefferson Lerma could be available sooner than expected. However, Joel Ward is set to be out "for a while" with a hamstring injury.