Crystal Palace and Sunderland will aim to continue a solid start to the 2025/26 season when they face off at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
The dreaded international break is behind us, and the 2025/26 Premier League season will resume with Gameweek 4. The latest round of fixtures begins with the game between Arsenal and Nottingham Forest at the Emirates before the action continues with five simultaneous ties, including Crystal Palace vs Sunderland at Selhurst Park.
Crystal Palace faced another summer transfer window in which they had to part ways with their best player. The frustrating pattern continued when Eberechi Eze joined Arsenal. They also nearly lost Marc Guehi to Liverpool before a deadline-day deal collapsed. Meanwhile, the Eagles have begun the 2025/26 campaign on the best possible note, going unbeaten in their six outings thus far.
Crystal Palace kick-started the 2025/26 campaign by beating Liverpool in the FA Community Shield tie before holding Chelsea to a goalless draw in the Premier League season opener. Since then, the Eagles have qualified for the UEFA Europa Conference League before heading into the international break with this term’s first Premier League win, cruising to a 3-0 victory over Aston Villa.
On the other hand, Sunderland could not have asked for a better start to life in the Premier League after nearly a decade. The Black Cats have won two of their first three games, beating long-standing Premier League teams like West Ham United and Brentford.
They were also one of the most active clubs in the summer transfer window, bolstering their squad significantly to prepare for the daunting challenge of remaining in the top flight beyond the 2025/26 season. So, while Sunderland bowed out of the EFL Cup in the second round, Regis Le Bris will be satisfied with his team’s performances thus far in the new campaign.
The most recent Premier League clash between Crystal Palace and Sunderland at Selhurst Park ended in a 4-0 win for the Wearside outfit, with Jermaine Defoe scoring a match-winning brace. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Crystal Palace
Oliver Glasner has a new injury concern that is hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Crystal Palace manager will be bereft of the services of half a dozen first-team players vs Sunderland on Saturday.
Ismaila Sarr is the latest absentee after picking up a hamstring injury during the international break. The Senegalese international has joined Chadi Riad (knee), Adam Wharton (thigh), Cheick Doucoure (knee), Caleb Kporha (back), and Eddie Nketiah (hamstring) on the sidelines.
Dean Henderson is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Crystal Palace lining up in a 3-4-2-1 formation in front of him vs Sunderland on Saturday. The central defensive unit should feature Chris Richards, Maxence Lacroix, and Marc Guehi. Meanwhile, Daniel Munoz and Tyrick Mitchell will be the two wing-backs.
The wide duo will protect the centre-backs and provide width in the final third. As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Jefferson Lerman and Will Hughes, with Wharton and Doucoure being unavailable. Meanwhile, Sarr’s absence means Yeremy Pino will make his first start for Crystal Palace, with the Spanish winger joining Daichi Kamada and Jean-Philippe Mateta in the final third.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Lerma, Hughes, Mitchell; Kamada, Yeremy; Mateta
Sunderland
Unlike his counterpart in the Crystal Palace dugout, Regis Le Bris has no new issues to worry about ahead of the trip to Selhurst Park. The Sunderland manager will continue to be without six first-team players this weekend.
Daniel Ballard (groin), Luke O’Nien (shoulder), and Aji Alese (shoulder) are closing in on returning from their fitness issues but will remain on the sidelines until next weekend. Dennis Cirkin (wrist), Leo Hjelde (calf), and Romane Mundle (thigh) will be unavailable until mid-October.
Robin Roefs will take his spot between the sticks, with Sunderland lining up in a 4-3-3 formation in front of him vs Crystal Palace on Saturday. The backline should feature Reinildo Mandava, Omar Alderete, Nordi Mukiele, and Lutsharel Geertruida, who will make his Sunderland bow this weekend.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Habib Diarra, Granit Xhaka, and Noah Sadiki. The trio will aim to keep things compact in the middle of the park and provide the forward thrust from the central areas. Finally, Eliezer Mayenda will lead the line for Sunderland against Crystal Palace, with Chemsdine Talbi and Simon Adingra completing the numbers in the offensive third.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Roefs; Geertruida, Mukiele, Alderete, Reinildo; Diarra, Xhaka, Sadiki; Talbi, Mayenda, Adingra
Key Stats
- Saturday’s Premier League clash will be the first meeting between Crystal Palace and Sunderland since February 2017 in the Premier League, with the Black Cats winning 4-0 at Selhurst Park in that tie. The away team has won five of the last six Premier League meetings between Crystal Palace and Sunderland (D1) – in eight games between the sides, the only home win was in August 2013, Palace winning 3-1 at Selhurst Park.
- Crystal Palace are on the longest current unbeaten league run of any Premier League side (9 – W3 D6). They last went 10 top-flight games unbeaten between May and October 1990 (12).
- Crystal Palace have faced defeat in only one of their last 16 Premier League matches against newly promoted sides (W10 D5), losing 2-1 to Luton Town in November 2023.
- Sunderland have won two of their three Premier League games this season (L1), the first newly promoted side to win two or more of their opening three matches of a campaign in the division since Leeds United in 2020/21 (also 2). Only two promoted clubs have started a Premier League campaign with three wins in their first four games: Nottingham Forest in 1994/95 and Bolton Wanderers in 2001/02.
- Sunderland are yet to score a first-half goal in the Premier League this season, having produced only 11 shots in the opening 45 minutes. In the second half, the Black Cats have five strikes from 20 shots, with only Liverpool netting more in the second half this term (6).
Player to Watch
Will Hughes
While Jean-Philippe Mateta, Granit Xhaka, and Eliezer Mayenda were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Will Hughes as the Player to Watch for Saturday’s Premier League clash between Crystal Palace and Sunderland at Selhurst Park.
The attackers are the most eye-catching players in any game, but the midfield battle will dictate which way the scales tip. Additionally, Will Hughes’s indisciplined start to the 2025/26 season means Oliver Glasner will demand better from him this weekend.
Hughes is the only player to be booked in all three Premier League games thus far this season. Four players have received a yellow card in their team’s first four matches of a campaign in the competition: Chris Morris for Middlesbrough in 1995/96, Paul Williams for Coventry City in 1997/98, James Perch for Newcastle United in 2010/11, and Adam Smith for Bournemouth in 2022/23. Hughes will hope he does not join that list this weekend.
Prediction
Crystal Palace 2-1 Sunderland
Sunderland may have shown they are no pushovers after heavily reinforcing Regis Le Bris’s squad in the summer transfer window and producing eye-catching performances in two of the first three Premier League games. However, toppling a resolute Crystal Palace may be a tall order.
Oliver Glasner has been exceptional at Crystal Palace, forging his squad in such a way that his charges play as more than the sum of their parts. Eberechi Eze’s departure has not troubled the South London outfit either, and they have remained unbeaten despite the distractions.
So, while Sunderland will give the hosts a run for their money, they might not have enough quality to overpower a solid Crystal Palace defence. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for Oliver Glasner and his charges, with Yeremy Pino and Jean-Philippe Mateta delivering the goods.
