Crystal Palace vs Fulham: Sage's Search for First Points
Crystal Palace’s search for a first Premier League point of the season takes them to Craven Cottage on Saturday, where Fulham await a side already feeling the strain under new boss Pierre Sage.
Two games, two defeats, six goals conceded. It has been a bruising introduction for Sage. A 2–0 loss at Everton was followed by a 4–1 home beating by Manchester City, exposing a defence that has looked brittle and an attack that has barely flickered. Palace’s only goal so far came from an own goal – a brutal statistic for a team already short on confidence in the final third.
Sage’s selection headache
If the results have been harsh, the team news is even crueller. Sage goes into the weekend with a squad stripped of key figures and short on rhythm.
Jean-Philippe Mateta, the focal point of Palace’s front line, is out for around three weeks with a hamstring injury. Losing the main striker at a time when the side is already struggling to create and finish chances is a major blow to any early plans Sage had drawn up.
Out wide, Ismaïla Sarr is also unavailable. A groin problem has kept him out of recent training sessions, and it comes on the back of a collapsed transfer to Liverpool that has left his immediate future clouded and his present contribution on hold.
At the back, there is no quick fix either. Chadi Riad remains a long-term absentee with a serious knee injury, removing another option from a defence that has already shipped six goals in two matches.
The bench, though, finally offers a sliver of optimism.
New faces, new hope
Sage at least has fresh blood 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.
Osorio stands out as the most likely to be thrown straight into the fray. With attacking options thin and the flanks in need of pace and invention, the Chilean winger is strongly tipped to see early minutes out wide as Palace try to inject something different into a blunt frontline.
Chilwell’s presence adds experience and balance on the left, while Ahanor and Timber bring energy and versatility to a squad that suddenly looks very different to the one that started pre-season.
Sage has little time to ease them in. Palace need impact now.
How Palace could line up
The reshaped side is expected to carry a new look as Sage searches for a formula that can finally deliver points.
Predicted Crystal Palace XI: Henderson; Canvot, Richards, Tomiyasu; Khalaili, Kamada, Wharton, Mitchell; McNeil, Larsen, Pino.
It is a line-up that leans on mobility and technical quality in midfield, with Kamada and Wharton asked to knit play together and protect a back line still finding its feet. Out wide and up front, the emphasis will be on movement and interchanging rather than a traditional target man, with Mateta sidelined.
Kick-off details
Fulham vs Crystal Palace kicks off at 3pm BST on Saturday, 5 September at Craven Cottage.
Because of the 3pm blackout rule in the UK, the match will not be televised domestically. For Sage and Palace, that might be no bad thing. After a bruising start, this feels like a game they simply need to get through with points on the board, by any means necessary.
Two defeats have already set the tone. Craven Cottage will tell us if Palace are ready to change it.
