Crystal Palace vs Sunderland Predicted Lineups

Crystal Palace have had a very difficult start to the season where the fixture list is concerned, having faced Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa through 3 games – all sides that finished in the top 8 of the table last season. Despite that difficult start to the season, Palace emerge with tons of credit, and 2 draws followed by a win in GW3 in the bank. Holding Chelsea goalless in the season opener was a good sign for the kind of team Palace will need to be without Eze and with Sarr now injured – a strong defensive team. In GW2 they drew 1-1 with Forest, and then made a major statement just before the international break by thrashing Aston Villa 0-3 away from home. Hurzeler has his team playing as a unit and there will be no easy games against this Palace side.

A Sunderland team who have had a dream start to life in the Premier League once again, are coming to Selhurt Park this weekend. The Black Cats have played 3 games against fellow relegation candidates and have picked up 2 huge wins from those 3 games, with a loss against Brentford sandwiched in between the wins over West Ham and Brentford. That is more than any Sunderland fan could have realistically expected, and those 6 early points will be pivotal in their fight for survival.

Putting this Sunderland team in the same bracket as Brentford, Burnley and the likes might prove to be shortsighted, as Sunderland had a tremendous summer transfer window, bringing in heralded talents from across Europe including some big names like Xhaka, Mukiele and Adingra. They do not really look like a relegation level side on paper or on the pitch through 3 games, but Palace is their biggest test so far in this new season – and we will see just how competitive this team can be this season with the performance they put on against the reigning FA Cup holders. This should be a back and forth physical game, with Palace having the home advantage, but Sunderland maybe having the advantage in midfield and attack, with Palace dealing with some injuries to key players.

 

Lineups will be updated throughout the week in live time as and when injury and lineup news is announced.

Green Light: Confident the player will start.

Amber Light: A toss up on whether the player will start.

Red Light: Confident the player will not start.

To head back to our main predicted lineups hub, click here.

 

Crystal Palace Predicted Lineup:

Crystal Palace Team News:

Glanser spoke about Guehi’s professionalism and commitment to the club after his failed move to Liverpool, saying “Everybody could see how he played for England, that he’s 100% focused, the same here. He will be our captain as long as he’s here, because he’s just such a great player and such a great personality and so much noise. That is the truth”. There have been reports from Paul Joyce that Liverpool will not come back in for the defender in January. For now, it looks like Guehi will be a Palace player for all of this season.

Speaking on Sarr and Wharton’s injuries, we received some positive news from Glasner, as he revealed that “At the moment it looks like Adam Wharton, Ismaila Sarr and Eddie Nketiah are available at least against Liverpool in two weeks. Maybe Adam and Eddie have a chance for West Ham.” Wharton was thought to potentially miss 2 months so the fact he has a chance to be fit for West Ham next weekend is great news. Sounds like Sarr’s earliest shot at playing is Liverpool in GW6.

It looks like Yeremy Pino will start against Sunderland. Glasner said as much, stating “All the new signings will be in the squad. There is a good chance that Yeremy Pino will make his starting debut for Crystal Palace tomorrow. He just needed to rest during the international break.” Pino will likely start in one of the 10 roles, where Sarr and Eze leave difficult holes to fill, alongside Devenny. Hughes and Kamada will start in midfield given Wharton’s injury.

Crystal Palace Players to Watch:

Guehi:

Devenny:

Pino:

Wharton:

Sarr:

Sunderland Predicted Lineup:

Sunderland Team News:

Ballard should return to full fitness after the international break. Whether he or Alderete start alongside new signing Mukiele, we will see.

New loan signing Geertruida, from Leipzig, has often played right-back in his career and I assume that is where he will play for Sunderland. I don’t think he can play in midfield in the Premier League.

Sunderland Players to Watch:

Geertruida:

Mukiele:

Ballard:

Alderete:

Final Thoughts:

Glasner will set his team up in their usual 3-4-2-1 despite Sarr and Wharton being out injured. This is the system he has drilled this squad into understanding and he will again look to be compact, defend aggressively, have his team dominate 1 on 1 duels and then allow Mateta to get his short handed team up the pitch and create problems for Sunderland on the counter. Sunderland will likely look to dominate possession a little more in their 4-3-3 system, with a near fully fit squad. The game should be back and forth and will be difficult to call, but a well fought draw seems the likeliest outcome given the circumstances of the game.