Crystal Palace will host Brentford with both teams looking to recover from defeats midweek. Wednesday’s 2-1 loss at Chelsea was sealed by an 89th-minute penalty. The Bees’ miserable 4-1 home loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers only made matters worse. Roy Hodgson’s team was left reeling.
Preview (Crystal Palace vs. Brentford)
A few weeks prior, Roy Hodgson was highly amused when his Crystal Palace team was given a last-minute penalty against Manchester City. However, during Wednesday’s all-London match between Chelsea and the Eagles at Stamford Bridge, the coach’s shoes were on the other foot. Michael Olise’s cancellation of an early Mykhaylo Mudryk effort put Palace on track for a hard-earned point. Michael Salisbury waved away appeals for a spot kick and Palace failed to capitalize on a four-on-two counterattack.
As has been the case across the nation this year, the latter coolly stroked in from 12 yards. The evidence seemed fairly clear-cut upon review. It did not deter an enthused Hodgson from going on a vitriolic diatribe about technology following the game. After losing their last eight Premier League games, the Eagles are flirting with relegation in 15th place. They are just three points ahead of Luton Town in 18th place despite having played one more game.
Only eight of Palace’s 19 goals this season have come at home. Only Burnley has collected fewer points than their six points so far. The one small bright spot from Wednesday’s loss was Olise’s exquisite finish. It allowed Palace to score for the ninth time in ten Premier League games. We’ll never know what was going through Nathan Collins’s mind as he hobbled off the pitch on Wednesday night. The Brentford defender led Wolves to a crushing defeat at Gtech Community Stadium. It was a one-man horror show that started when Mario Lemina headed home his second goal.
Team News
Due to injuries, six Palace players—including Joel Ward (thigh), Jesurun Rak-Sakyi (thigh), and Cheick Doucoure (Achilles)—will probably miss Palace’s match against Brentford. Ward and Rak-Sakyi are all long-term absences. Odsonne Edouard’s knee injury has no defined timetable for recovery, Sam Johnstone’s calf problem is unlikely to get better in time for the derby, and Rob Holding’s ankle problem will need to be evaluated in the next few days. From a tactical standpoint, Hodgson probably has no cause to modify his starting lineup for the Eagles, but if weariness becomes an issue, the first players to go should be Matheus Franca and Jeffrey Schlupp.
The fact that the physiotherapists are taking care of Rico Henry (knee), Kevin Schade (adductor), Aaron Hickey (thigh), Bryan Mbeumo (ankle), Kristopher Ajer (foot), and Josh Dasilva (hamstring) is another reason for Brentford’s recent problems. However, Frank Onyeka is available to Frank once again after sitting out the Wolves thumping due to yellow card accumulation. After Wednesday’s appalling performance, Onyeka, Matthias Jensen, and Mikkel Damsgaard will all put themselves forward for starting positions, but it’s safe to say that a disappointed Collins will keep his spot in the backline.
Crystal Palace 1-1 Brentford
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