Crystal Palace host Nottingham Forest in the Premier League this weekend, looking to build on their impressive win over Manchester United.
Crystal Palace picked up a 1-0 win at Old Trafford in their last league game, and they will be confident of grinding out another victory against Nottingham Forest. The Eagles are currently ninth in the league table, and they are unbeaten in four of their last five league matches.
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest are coming into this game on the back of a draw against Brentford, and they are winless in their last three league matches. They have picked up just one win from their last five league games and will have to raise their performance levels in order to grind out all three points here.
Nottingham Forest have an impressive head-to-head record against Crystal Palace in recent seasons. But it remains to be seen whether they can extend their fine run of form against the South London club and grind out a positive result here.
Team News & Tactics
Crystal Palace
The home side will be without Eberechi Eze, who has been ruled out until November with a thigh injury. Nathan Ferguson is sidelined with a similar injury, and he is expected to return in November as well. Michael Olise is sidelined until the end of this month. Dean Henderson is also suffering from a thigh injury and his return date is unknown.
Palace are likely to shape up in a 4-3-3 formation, with Sam Johnstone in goal. Joel Ward and Tyrick Mitchell will start as the full-backs, and they will look to help out offensively and protect the central defenders as well. Joachim Andersen will start alongside Marc Guehi at the heart of the defence.
Cheick Doucoure will start as the central defensive midfielder here, and he will look to break up the opposition attacks and win the ball back for his side. Will Hughes and Jairo Riedewald will start alongside him.
Jean-Philippe Mateta will likely lead the line for Crystal Palace, with Jordan Ayew and Jeffrey Schlupp on either side of him.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Johnstone; Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; Riedewald, Doucoure, Hughes; Ayew, Mateta, Schlupp
Nottingham Forest
Danilo is ruled out with a thigh injury and will be unavailable until November. Nuno Tavares and Philippe Monteiro have picked up groin and knee injuries, respectively, and they will return later this month. Moussa Niakhate is suspended after picking up two yellow cards.
Nottingham Forest are likely to line up in a 4-3-2-1 formation, with Matt Turner in goal. Serge Aurier and Ola Aina will be deployed as the full-backs here. Willy Boly will start in central defence alongside Murillo.
In the midfield unit, Ibrahima Sangare will add defensive cover alongside Nicolas Dominguez and Orel Mangala. Callum Hudson-Odoi and Morgan Gibbs-White will start as the attacking midfielders, and they will look to help create goal-scoring opportunities and drift out wide from time to time as well. Finally, Taiwo Awoniyi is set to lead the line for the visitors.
Probable Lineup (4-3-2-1): Turner; Aurier, Boly, Murillo, Aina; Dominguez, Sangare, Mangala; Hudson-Odoi, Gibbs-White; Awoniyi
Key Stats
- Nottingham Forest are undefeated in their last six away matches against Crystal Palace in all competitions.
- 13 goals have been scored in the last six matches between these two sides.
- Crystal Palace have conceded ten goals in their last six matches across all competitions.
- Nottingham Forest have conceded in five of their last six matches across all competitions.
Player to Watch
Joachim Andersen
😏 https://t.co/eDw8rrIk42 pic.twitter.com/kv24SW8Atd
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) October 4, 2023
The 27-year-old is certainly one of the best players at the club, and he will be crucial to his side’s hopes of grinding out all three points. Andersen has picked up three man-of-the-match awards in seven league games for Palace so far while scoring two goals. The Denmark international is clearly influencing games at both ends of the pitch, and he is our key man to watch out for.
Prediction
Crystal Palace 2-1 Nottingham Forest
Crystal Palace are in slightly better form compared to Nottingham Forest, and they should be able to grind out all three points here. Both teams are quite equally matched, and this is likely to be a close contest.
However, the home side have a better defensive unit, and they should be able to emerge victorious. Crystal Palace have failed to win any of their last six games against Nottingham Forest and they will have extra motivation heading into this game. A 2-1 home win is on the cards.