Hodgson enjoyed a successful stint as Palace manager before stepping down midway through last season to be replaced by Oliver Glasner.
He told the Daily Mail: "We always saw potential in JP (Jean-Philippe Mateta) but wondered if he could piece the strength, technique and decision-making together.
"To be fair to him, if I picked Christian Benteke or Odsonne Edouard ahead of him, JP would always come and tell me, 'You should play me!' I knew he was different and in the last year under Oliver Glasner, he’s hit the form he’d always half-promised.
"Guehi has an understated excellence. You look at him during a match and think he’s doing OK, keep it going. Then, when the final whistle blows and you realise he’s done well for 90 minutes. He rarely makes mistakes.
"Marc wasn’t afraid to speak but wasn’t a barker on the pitch. His partner, Joachim Andersen, would be the one to speak up. Of course, they’ll be against each other in this game.
"When we missed Michael Olise and Eze through injury, a lot of our results depended on whether we could defend well enough. Now Eze is fit and has got Adam Wharton, Daniel Munoz and an in-form JP as extra weapons. It’s made such a difference to Palace’s attacking qualities."