Crystal Palace face Nottingham Forest in a mid-table Premier League encounter at Selhurst Park.
Victory would see Palace climb to seventh in the table, whilst Forest can go tenth with a win if Manchester United and Chelsea both fail to win elsewhere.
Team News
Eberechi Eze is ruled out for Palace with a hamstring injury.
James Tomkins (unspecified), Jefferson Lerma and Odsonne Edouard (both hamstring) could return.
Dean Henderson (muscle), Nathan Ferguson (thigh), Naouirou Ahamada (ankle), Matheus Franca (back) and Michael Olise (hamstring) remain absent.
Forest will be without Moussa Niakhate after he was red carded in their 1-1 draw against Brentford.
Ryan Yates (hamstring), Nicolas Dominguez (adductor) and Ola Aina (muscle) face late fitness tests.
Wayne Hennessey, Felipe (both knee), Nuno Tavares (groin) and Danilo (hamstring) remain ruled out.
When is Kick-Off?
Palace host Forest in a 5:30pm BST kick-off at Selhurst Park on Saturday 7 October, live on Sky Sports in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Crystal Palace are winless in six previous Premier League meetings against Forest (D3, L3).
- Forest have claimed five points from three previous Premier League visits to Palace (W1, D2).
- Two of Palace’s three previous Premier League home games against Forest have ended in 1-1 draws.
- Joachim Andersen has had more touches on the ball than any other Palace player this season (508).
- Orel Mangala has made more interceptions than any other Forest player this season (10).
Prediction
Having claimed a clinical win at Man Utd last weekend in a game where they defended resiliently and took their chances well, Palace now have a headache with Eze and Olise sidelined whilst Edouard is a doubt which raises questions about their potential formation and tactics.
Forest meanwhile were excellent against Brentford in terms of possession and attacking dominance but just lacked much end product to get the win, although a draw is a fair result with ten men so hopefully they can come out and continue to play their front-footed pressing football.
This game though doesn’t scream goals to me given Palace’s potential selection and tactical issues, which might suit Forest if they can nick a goal first because both teams can be difficult to beat defensively at times.
Prediction: Crystal Palace 0-1 Nottingham Forest
Result: Crystal Palace 0-0 Nottingham Forest
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