Preview:Crystal Palace vs Brentford - prediction, team news, lineups

Two teams level on points in the Premier League and both boasting wins over champions Liverpool this season lock horns at Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon, as Crystal Palace play host to Brentford.

The Eagles suffered defeat in this fixture last season, with the Bees securing a 2-1 away victory in January thanks to goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Kevin Schade.

Match preview

"Can we play you every week?" was one of many joyful chants from Crystal Palace fans after watching their team beat Liverpool for the third time in as many months, following up their Community Shield and Premier League triumphs with a comfortable 3-0 win at Anfield in the EFL Cup fourth round on Wednesday.

Two first-half goals from Ismaila Sarr helped Palace punish a much-changed Liverpool side, who were reduced to 10 men with 11 minutes remaining before Yeremy Pino added a third to rub salt into the wounds of the floundering Merseyside giants and fire the Eagles into the quarter-finals for the second successive season.

Much to the frustration of a "really upset" Oliver Glasner, Palace may soon have to navigate their way through four games in just eight days after advancing in the EFL Cup. Premier League matches against Man City and Leeds, as well as a Conference League clash against KuPS, are all scheduled in December before Christmas and the EFL are in talks with stakeholders and clubs, as Palace’s quarter-final tie with Arsenal is currently scheduled for December 16.

In the meantime, Palace will shift their focus back to the Premier League; they currently sit 10th in the table and four points behind the top four after losing two of their last three Premier League matches (D1) - including last weekend’s 1-0 loss at Arsenal - as many as in their previous 19 games combined (W9 D8).

The Eagles, who are yet to lose in four Premier League games at Selhurst Park this term (W1 D3), head into Saturday’s contest with Brentford having won only one of their previous eight top-flight encounters with Brentford (D5 L2) - a 3-1 home victory in December 2023.

Many had tipped Brentford to struggle this season following a significant summer of change, but the Bees currently sit 11th in the Premier League table and eight points clear of the relegation zone, while they have also punched their ticket to a second successive EFL Cup quarter-final, and fourth in six years.

After winning back-to-back Premier League games against West Ham and Liverpool, beating the latter 3-2 on home soil last weekend, Brentford eased to a comprehensive 5-0 away victory over fourth-tier side Grimsby Town in the fourth round of the EFL Cup on Tuesday night - their biggest win in any competition since beating Southampton in the top flight by the same scoreline in January.

Head coach Keith Andrews, who has won six of his 12 matches since taking charge of the Bees in the summer, was delighted with the “professionalism and attitude” shown by a much-changed team at Grimsby and he has encouraged his players to build on their positive run of form as they prepare for a challenging run of fixtures.

Before facing Newcastle, Brighton, Burnley, Arsenal and Tottenham in the Premier League, Brentford will turn their attention to Saturday’s clash with Crystal Palace, a team the Bees beat 2-1 both home and away last season after failing to win any of their first six PL meetings with the Eagles (D5 L1).

Brentford’s set-piece threat has been well-documented, and since the start of last season they have scored eight Premier League goals via throw-ins alone, five more than any other team in the division. In fact, the two sides to put the most long throws into the opposition penalty box so far this term are the Bees (47) and Crystal Palace (38).

Crystal Palace Premier League form:

D W W L D L

Crystal Palace form (all competitions):

W L D L L W

Brentford Premier League form:

D L W L W W

Brentford form (all competitions):

L W L W W W

Team News

Crystal Palace trio Chadi Riad, Cheick Doucoure (both knee) and Caleb Kporha (back) all remain sidelined with injuries, while Glasner has revealed that Adam Wharton (illness) and Eddie Nketiah (hamstring) are also unavailable for selection.

However, Chris Richards - who missed the midweek win at Liverpool - "is back" and a late call will be made over whether he should start in defence. If he is not deemed ready to start, 19-year-old summer signing Jaydee Canvot handed his first Premier League start at centre-back alongside Maxence Lacroix and captain Marc Guehi.

Tyrick Mitchell is expected to replace Borna Sosa at left wing-back and Will Hughes is set to partner Daichi Kamada in centre-midfield, while Jean-Philippe Mateta - who has scored 21 goals in 27 home Premier League starts at Selhurst Park - is poised to lead the line at the expense of Nketiah.

As for Brentford, Antoni Milambo, Josh Dasilva and Benjamin Arthur are all ruled out with knee injuries, but Yegor Yarmoliuk (hip) and Aaron Hickey (knee) are both fit and available for selection this weekend.

After making nine changes to his starting lineup for the midweek win at Grimsby, Andrews could revert to a similar side to the one that beat Liverpool, but he will also consider switching to a five-man defence to match Palace’s system.

Igor Thiago has scored six goals in his nine Premier League starts for Brentford this season and he is expected to lead the line once again, with support provided in attack by Kevin Schade and Dango Ouattara, though Reiss Nelson will be pushing for a start after scoring and assisting against Grimsby.

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:

Henderson; Canvot, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Hughes, Kamada, Mitchell; Sarr, Pino; Mateta

Brentford possible starting lineup:

Kelleher; Kayode, Collins, Van den Berg, Ajer; Henderson, Yarmoliuk; Schade, Damsgaard, Ouattara; Thiago

We say: Crystal Palace 2-1 Brentford

The first two Premier League meetings between Crystal Palace and Brentford finished goalless, but since then, both teams have scored in all six encounters between the two sides and we expect the net to ripple at both ends once again this weekend.

Brentford got the better of Palace last season and have the potential to put a sting in the tail of the Eagles once again, but we are backing the hosts to outscore their opponents on this occasion and return to winning ways in the top flight.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.