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Email! “Daichi Kamada is back from injury after a month out, though still on the bench,” writes Kári Tulinius. “I think his loss has been felt more acutely than most by Palace. He’s excellent at breaking up opposition play and launching attacks. While vibes might drag the Eagles down, I think having Kamada back will make a big difference.”
They’ll certainly hope so; defensively they’ve not been that bad, their 29 goals conceded the best record in the bottom half and better than Man United and Liverpool in the top. Going forward, though, they’ve only scored 25 times, joint second-lowest in the division.
I’ve not seen every Palace game this season or anything like it, but one of the most notable aspects of those I have watched was Mateta’s miserable finishing, especially one on one. If they can create those situations for Strand Larsen, I’d expect much better.
That Katsoulas goal I mentioned:
Something fun to read:
Maybe the WSL title race isn’t quite over? At the Emirates, Arsenal lead Man City 1-0; join Xaymaca for the denouement.
Quiz time: what does this seminal 80s kids’ TV show have to do with Crystal Palace?
Get a load of this:
Playing for Palace: Paul Hinshelwood, late grandfather of Jack.
I’ll probably end up looking silly, but I quite fancy Palace here. Brighton lack a reliable scorer – though Katsoulas’ brilliant goal against Bournemouth tells us he knows where the goal is – and I think Palace have the speed of foot and of pass to cause them problems.
So where is the game? Brighton will expect – and probably allowed – to have more of the ball, with Mitoma and Rutter staying narrow and Kadioglu and De Cuyper keeping width outside them – especially useful when facing a three-at-the-back system. The space will be in behind the wing-backs and down the sides of the centre-backs, though I’d also expect Katsoulas to target the space in behind.
Palace, meanwhile, will look for Wharton to fire those hard, low passes into Strand Larsen, with Pino and Sarr roaming behind, looking to combine and hit the space in behind; I’d also expect them to try plenty of crosses, with their new striker looking to hit the front post.
Glasner tells Sky that Strand Larsen has shown in training that he can score, something Palace have been without lately; the team need to offer him crosses and runs into the box to create space for him. He’s happy to have more options than previously.
On the ball – guess the footballer
The Guardian has kicked off a new chapter in puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android … so what are you waiting for?
Palace, meanwhile, are without Mateta but with Strand Larsen, who makes a debut. And with Adam Wharton back from suspension, Jefferson Lerma moves into the back three with Riad relocating to the bench.
Otherwise, the headline news is that 17-year-old Harry Howell comes in for a full Premier League debut; he’ll be on the right of Brighton’s midfield three. “It’s not about age, it’s about quality,” Hurzeler says, noting that excellence in training was crucial in making his mind up for him, also confirming Van Hecke has a small issue.
Otherwise, this kind of game it’s about focusing on your own approach and not fussing too much about the other team, which they did the last time they met Palace, who he knows are physical.
Taking a closer look at those teams, Brighton are without all manner of player: Stefanos Tzimas, Adam Webster, Solly March, Yasin Ayari, Jan Paul van Hecke and Mats Wiefer; Palace are missing Cheick Doucouré, Eddie Nketiah, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Justin Davenny and Rio Cardines.
Teams!
Brighton & Hove Albion (4-3-3): Verbruggen; Kadioglu, Boscagli, Dunk, De Cuyper; Baleba, Gross, Howell; Rutter, Kostoulas, Mitoma. Subs: Julio, Minteh, Hinshelwood, Welbeck, Milner, Steele, Gómez, O’Riley, Veltman.
Crystal Palace (3-4-2-1): Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Lerma; Munoz, Hughes, Wharton, Mitchell; Sarr, Pino; Strand Larsen. Subs: Johnson, Uche, Clyne, Kamada, Canvot, Sosa, Guessand, Riad, Benitez.
Referee: Thomas Bramall (Sheffield)
Before we go any further, get into this. It’s the final over and it’s an arse-nipper.
Preamble
What is is about football that incites antipathy? It’s not enough to love yourself; rather that sensation must necessarily be juxtaposed against who you hate, identity a representation of who you aren’t almost as much as who you are.
Which is one reason why clubs who can’t rely on geography to deliver them a natural rival find another way – Brighton and Crystal Palace, for example, battling for supremacy of the much-coveted M23 corridor. Of course, there’s a pretext – some mid-70s competition between teams who’d previously not played each other much, followed by mid-to-late 70s animus between their respective managers, Terry Venables and Alan Mullery, former teammates with incompatible egos. But as much as anything, this contest reflects the basic human desire to hate, the beautiful game much the richer for it.
And today’s edition offers plenty of scope for fun in that vein. Palace are on a dreadful run, without a league victory since the first week of December, just six points off the relegation zone. Yes, there are reasons for that, but at this stage it barely matters: West Ham are playing well and winning while they are playing poorly and losing, with the two teams in between, Forest and Leeds, looking just about good enough to escape the drop. It’s not desperate yet, but it could get there and quickly.
So can Brighton embrace tradition and kick them when they’re down? Though it’s been a mixed season for Fabian Hürzeler’s men, as things stand now they’re still in the FA Cup and still in the fight for a European spot, just about. They’ve not won a league game since the start of January and that was at home to Burnley, but in that time, they’ve drawn at Manchester City and won at Manchester United, which tells us they’ve got performances in them. They’ll be desperate to produce one today, to improve their own situation – but just as importantly, to compound Palace’s.
Kick-off: 2pm GMT
