Crystal Palace take on Sunderland in the Premier League this weekend in what should be a fairly even contest.
- Date: 13/09/2025
- Kick-off: 3:00pm
- Location: Selhurst Park, South London
Crystal Palace come into this game with one win and two draws from their opening three league games. Oliver Glasner's side kicked off with a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge, followed by a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest and a 3-0 win away at Aston Villa.
While also factoring in the quality of the opponent and the convincing nature of the scoreline, the win at Villa Park was particularly encouraging given it came after the departure of star player Eberechi Eze, and it rounds off what has been a strong start to the season for the South London club.
Palace haven't had the best summer in the transfer market, with the club arguably not doing enough to put the team in a good position to absorb the added demands of the Europa League. However, they've pretty much picked up where they left off last season in terms of performances.
They do, though, come into this game amidst something of an injury crisis, with Adam Wharton and Ismaila Sarr both set to miss this game with muscle injuries. This comes on top of more long-term injuries to the likes of Cheick Doucoure, Eddie Nketiah, Chadi Riad, and Matheus Franca, while new signing Yeremy Pino is also a doubt after pulling out of the Spain squad at the start of this month.
Still, Palace are a tough nut to crack and haven't lost any of their last seven games at Selhurst Park, and while the absences of players like Wharton and Sarr will hurt them, they still remain a very resilient side that's conceded just seven goals in their last eight league games.
Sunderland enter this game with two wins from two games in the Premier League. The Black Cats began their campaign with a resounding 3-0 win over West Ham United, followed by a 2-0 loss to Burnley and a 2-1 win over Brentford.
Sunderland's start to the season has been a bit of a whirlwind, but fans will be delighted to have two wins on the board already, especially given how long it took last season's newly promoted teams to register points on the board.
Sunderland have signed no fewer than 16 new players this summer, so to start as quickly as they have done is very encouraging, given it would be reasonable to expect them to need time to grow into the season and integrate all the new faces.
Hoping to build on the team's great start, Regis Le Bris comes into this game unable to call upon Dan Ballard, who is out with a groin injury, while Luke O'Nien, Romaine Mundle and Denis Cirkin will need to wait to make their Premier League debuts for the club.
There may be some concern over the contrast in performances between Sunderland's home games and their away trip to Burnley, and that's something worth keeping in mind heading into a game at such a tough Premier League venue.
Ultimately, this is a game between two sides that have started the season very well, and while Palace might normally be considered favourites, their injury crisis puts them in a very tricky position that paves the way for Sunderland to pick up an important result.
Crystal Palace 1-1 Sunderland
