A return to Premier League action sees Crystal Palace make the trip to the AMEX Stadium to face high-flying Brighton for Sunday’s early kick-off.
Crystal Palace find themselves 17th in the Premier League after fifteen matches but could find themselves 15th with a win, if other results go their way.
In preparation for the fixture, Oliver Glasner spoke to the press on Friday to discuss his side’s prospects against the 7th-placed side, including their unbeaten run, an important rivalry and his relationship with Seagulls boss Fabian Hurzeler.
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A team in good form
The season has not been perfect for Palace, seeing them sit a single point above the relegation zone and face a genuine threat of dropping to the Championship come the end of the season should the bottom three find form.
However, it seems as if the Eagles have found their stride in recent times, taking a point against Newcastle, an out-of-form Manchester City, Aston Villa and even a win away at Ipswich.
The run of form has seen Palace lose only once in eight games, with the Eagles appearing to turn the corner since the 1-0 victory at home to Tottenham.
They will hope to end the busy December period unbeaten and even further from the bottom three, facing off against Brighton, Arsenal, Bournemouth and Southampton. Oliver Glasner will be quietly optimistic.
Speaking on his side’s form, he said “This week has been very positive, of course, with the three-game week and being unbeaten…”
“We all feel ready for the five games in December and hopefully many games in January too.”
The indication is the positive mood in the camp has been carrying them through the season, as seen in Glasner’s celebrations throughout this run. He clearly cares about this team and wants the best, and will hope to deliver a win that matters to the fans.
The main issue at the beginning of the season was beating teams around them, but now they need to be able to consistently turn one point into three points in order to turn their season around.
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A massive rivalry
Crystal Palace’s rivalry with Brighton has seen both teams face each other in different situations over the years. From Championship clashes to Premier League Super Sundays, it’s been Brighton who have ended up the better side in recent years, taking leaps and bounds to embark on a Europa League experience, whilst their South London rivals have remained a mid-table side.
This season was supposed to be different, the start of something new. And yet after all the hype and the new signings, it’s back to basics for Palace.
Nonetheless, Glasner understands the importance of this occasion, answering with, “I know it’s very important for our fans and if it’s very important for our fans then it’s important for us as well, because we are one big family.”
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Injury update
Despite all the positive words that Glasner brought to the press conference, there was still some tough news to take away.
The majority of the squad is seemingly fit, which should mean a near full strength side can be sent out, but Adam Wharton will definitely miss the tie on Sunday.
When speaking on the injury, Glasner said, “He had a little bit of a reaction after the Wednesday and Thursday training sessions. Very intense sessions and he had a bit of a reaction, so we had to reduce his workload, so he won’t be available.”
A huge blow to the team, with Wharton remaining one of the star players in the side, it will be very difficult to replace him in the system.
Alongside Wharton, Joel Ward and Matheus França will also be unavailable this weekend, with França in rehab and Ward dealing with calf issues for the time being.
