Crystal Palace test 'good for the future' if Wilfried Zaha gets extended ban, says Christian Benteke

Christian Benteke is confident Crystal Palace will cope if Wilfried Zaha is banned for Saturday’s match against West Ham.

Zaha has been charged with improper conduct by the FA after sarcastically applauding referee Andre Marriner following his red card during the 1-1 draw against Southampton last Wednesday.

The forward has until 6pm on Tuesday to respond to the FA and is ready to contest the charge to avoid a further ban. Zaha has already missed one game, Saturday’s 2-0 win over Fulham. That would normally be the end of his suspension, but after being charged with improper conduct he could also miss Saturday’s game. Palace have previously struggled without Zaha, but Benteke believes they have put that problem behind them.

“It [his absence] puts us in the situation where we can’t just rely on width,” said Benteke. “When he is not there we have to show ourselves. It is good for the future, it means we have got a second option when Wilf is not there. We have got a lot of experienced players. We can’t just blame each other because Wilf is not there.”