Crystal Palace Seek First Points in Tough Trip to Fulham
Crystal Palace head to Craven Cottage on Saturday still searching for their first Premier League points under new manager Pierre Sage, and already the season feels like hard work.
Two games, two defeats. A 2–0 loss at Everton to open the campaign, then a bruising 4–1 reverse at home to Manchester City. Six goals conceded, none scored by their own players. Palace’s only strike so far came via an own goal, a stark snapshot of a side short of conviction in both boxes.
Sage walked into a rebuild. He now walks into a mini injury crisis.
Sage hit by early injury storm
The biggest blow is up front. Star striker Jean-Philippe Mateta has been ruled out for around three weeks with a hamstring injury, stripping Palace of their primary focal point just as they try to find any sort of rhythm.
Out wide, Ismaïla Sarr is also unavailable. A groin problem has kept him out of recent training sessions, his fitness troubles arriving on the back of a collapsed transfer move to Liverpool that has left his immediate future clouded.
At the back, there is no quick fix either. Defender Chadi Riad remains a long-term absentee with a serious knee injury, denying Sage another option in a back line that has already been exposed twice in quick succession.
The numbers underline the problem. Six conceded in two matches, with opponents regularly finding space between the lines and in behind. Palace look fragile, and they know it.
New faces, new hope
The pressure on recruitment to deliver instant impact is obvious. Sage at least has fresh legs to turn to.
Ben Chilwell, Honest Ahanor, Quinten Timber and Darío Osorio have all trained with the first team and are available to feature at Craven Cottage. They arrive as more than just depth; they represent a chance to change the mood.
Osorio, in particular, stands out as a likely early contributor. With attacking options thin and creativity at a premium, the wide forward is strongly tipped to see minutes as Sage searches for pace, directness and a spark in the final third.
This is not a gentle bedding-in period. It is a necessity.
How Palace could line up
Sage is expected to lean on a back three again, trying to tighten a defence that has been too easy to prise open.
A possible Crystal Palace XI: Henderson; Canvot, Richards, Tomiyasu; Khalaili, Kamada, Wharton, Mitchell; McNeil, Larsen, Pino.
That setup offers flexibility. Width from the flanks, energy in midfield, and a front line that can press and counter. What it has not yet offered is goals. That has to change quickly if Palace are to stop the early-season slide from turning into something more serious.
Kick-off details
Fulham vs Crystal Palace kicks off at 3pm BST on Saturday, 5th September at Craven Cottage.
Because of the 3pm blackout rule in the UK, the match will not be televised domestically. For Palace, that might be no bad thing. This feels like a day to grind, to scrap, and to finally put a point – or three – on the board before anxiety takes hold of their season.
