Crystal Palace host Nottingham Forest at Selhurst Park this Sunday in a Premier League tussle between two sides who made positive starts to the season.
- Date: 24/08/2025
- Kick-off: 2:00pm
- Location: Selhurst Park, South London
Palace head into this fixture buoyed by a resilient goalless draw away at Chelsea, showcasing defensive organisation and structure under manager Oliver Glasner. Palace created chances at Stamford Bridge and even had a goal ruled out by VAR, so they'll strongly feel like they could've got more out of the game. Selhurst Park often brings out an energetic performance from the hosts, and they will hope to convert home advantage into three points on Sunday.
They have, however, been rocked by the departure of star player Eberechi Eze, who has played his last game for the club. Eze is on the verge of sealing a big-money move to Arsenal, so Palace now have to scramble to try and replace the attacker before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.
Injuries have also affected Palace’s squad depth, with Cheick Doucoure, Chadi Riad, Daichi Kamada, and Eddie Nketiah all ruled out, while Matheus Franca remains a doubt. Nevertheless, Palace have coped well, relying on Hughes and Wharton in midfield and pace out wide.
Nottingham Forest arrive in south London off the back of a 3-1 home win over Brentford, in which striker Chris Wood grabbed a brace and Morgan Gibbs-White impressed in the playmaker role. The Tricky Trees ended last season strongly, especially away from home, and their counter-attacking style under Nuno Espirito Santo provides a threat, particularly if Forest can maintain a tight defensive structure. Defensive absences persist, with Nicolás Dominguez unavailable to anchor the midfield, but the likes of Aina, Murillo, and Milenkovic offer enough cover at the back.
Forest typically line up in a 4-2-3-1, looking to strike on transitions with quick wingers like Hudson-Odoi and Ndoye stretching the game, while Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson orchestrate from central areas.
The recent head-to-head record between the two is even, with four of the last five meetings drawn - three 1-1s and one 0-0 - and the other a narrow 1-0 win for Forest, indicating little separates these sides. Both sides had strong defensive records last season, with Forest conceding only 46 goals and Palace conceding 51, although Palace improved significantly in the second half of the season, conceding only 23 goals in their last 18 games. We do, then, expect this game to end in a low scoring draw.
Crystal Palace 1-1 Nottingham Forest
