Crystal Palace will host Brentford at Selhurst Park on Sunday afternoon, looking to continue their impressive run of form.
Crystal Palace are 12th in the Premier League table, and they will look to move into the top half of the table with a victory vs Brentford on Sunday. Meanwhile, Brentford have been quite inconsistent in recent weeks, and they have picked up just one win from the last six Premier League matches.
It will be interesting to see if the Bees can bounce back strongly. Thomas Frank’s men are 11th in the Premier League standings, and they will look to secure their place in the top half with a positive result here.
Both teams are quite evenly matched, and it will be interesting to see who comes out on top. This should be a fascinating contest between two quality teams. They are quite similar in terms of quality, and the recent match-ups between them have been hard to call. This one is likely to be another nail-biter. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest between the two sides.
Team News and Tactics
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace will be without Matheus Franca and Adam Wharton due to their respective groin injuries. Rob Holding has been banished from the first-team squad. Crystal Palace will shape up in a 3-4-1-2 formation vs Brentford, with Dean Henderson in goal.
Chris Richards will start in the back three alongside Maxence Lacroix and Marc Guehi. Daniel Munoz and Tyrick Mitchell will start as the wing-backs. They will look to help out at both ends of the pitch.
As for the midfield unit, Will Hughes and Cheick Doucoure will add creativity and defensive cover to the side. Eberechi Eze and Ismaila Sarr will start in the attacking midfield roles, and they will look to link up with Jean-Philippe Mateta in the final third.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Henderson; Richards, Guehi, Lacroix; Munoz, Hughes, Doucoure, Mitchell; Sarr, Eze; Mateta
Brentford
Brentford will be without Joshua Dasilva due to a knee injury, Gustavo Nunes due to a back injury, Rico Henry due to a knee injury, Aaron Hickey due to a thigh injury, Igor Thiago with a knee injury, Ethan Pinnock with a thigh injury, and Kristoffer Ajer because of an ankle injury.
The away side will shape up in a 4-3-3 formation, with Mark Flekken in goal. Mads Roerslev and Keane Lewis-Potter will start as the full-backs here. They will look to keep things tight at the back and hit the Eagles on the break. Nathan Collins will feature alongside Ben Mee in the central defensive partnership.
As for the midfield unit, Vitaly Janelt will start alongside Christian Norgaard and Mikkel Damsgaard in the middle of the park. Janelt and Norgaard will help out defensively and Damsgaard will add craft to the side. Kevin Schade will lead the line for Brentford vs Crystal Palace, with Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa on either side of him.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Flekken; Roerslev, Collins, Mee, Lewis-Potter; Norgaard, Janelt, Damsgaard; Mbeumo, Schade, Wissa
Key Stats
- Crystal Palace are undefeated in ten of their last 11 matches in the Premier League.
- Four of the last six matches between Crystal Palace and Brentford have ended in a draw.
- Brentford are winless in five of their last six Premier League matches.
- Three of the last five matches between Crystal Palace and Brentford have ended with a scoreline of 1-1.
- Crystal Palace have kept four clean sheets in their last six matches in all competitions.
Player to Watch
Eberechi Eze
The 26-year-old England international is our key player to watch out for. He has 5 goals and 8 assists to his name in all competitions and he will look to make a defining impact in the final third. He will look to create goal-scoring opportunities for his teammates and open up the Brentford defence with his passing, vision and technical ability. Eze will look to add to his goal tally for the season as well.
Prediction
Crystal Palace 1-1 Brentford
Both teams will be desperate for a win, and this will be a close contest first. It could be hard to separate Crystal Palace and Brentford, and they could end up cancelling each other out. Four of the last six matches between these two sides have ended in a draw and this one could follow suit. The two side are likely to share the spoils in a goalscoring draw this weekend. The Hard Tackle predicts a 1-1 stalemate.
