Crystal Palace begin a quartet of friendly fixtures this December when they host Botafogo of Brazil at Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon.
The Eagles have enjoyed a steady start to their Premier League campaign whereas Botafogo managed to survive in the Brazilian top flight after winning Serie B in 2021.
Match preview
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Despite a disappointing defeat to recently-promoted Nottingham Forest in their final match before the international break, Crystal Palace have begun their 10th consecutive season in the Premier League in a respectable manner.
Patrick Vieira's side are 11th in the top tier with the season paused for the World Cup in Qatar, having collected 19 points from 14 matches, a tally which leaves them six points clear of Steve Cooper's men who occupy the highest of the relegation places.
Wilfried Zaha has once again been the star man for the Londoners, leading the team in terms of goals with six strikes, however the attacking burden has been shared slightly given the recent form of Odsonne Edouard and Eberechi Eze.
This friendly matchup against the Brazilians is the first of four games in the space of two weeks for the Eagles, with notable ties against Trabzonspor and the impressive Napoli taking place next week.
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Botafogo enjoyed life back in Brazil's top flight in 2022 after securing a comfortable mid-table finish, and now travel to England to pit their wits against quality Premier League opposition.
O Glorioso do not have their next competitive fixture in Brazil until they face off against Audax Rio EC as part of the Brazil State Championship in January, meaning they could rotate from their usual XI at Selhurst Park and begin to experiment as they look ahead to 2023.
The visitors on Saturday were exceptional travellers in the Brazilian Serie A this year, with only Palmeiras and Fluminense collecting more points on the road - although a journey to England to face Crystal Palace is quite a distance to travel for a match, let alone a friendly.
This match represents the first time Crystal Palace have ever faced a top-tier Brazilian side and it will be interesting to see the two-time Brazilian Serie A winners lock horns with Premier League opposition this weekend.
Team News
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Crystal Palace had relatively few players travelling to the World Cup, with only Joachim Andersen and Jordan Ayew in Qatar with Denmark and Ghana respectively
Long-term absentees for the Eagles include Nathan Ferguson and Jack Butland, with the former yet to make an impact since joining from West Bromwich Albion over two years ago.
As with the nature of a friendly match, predicting the Crystal Palace XI is a very difficult task but expect Vieira to field a mix of first-team players and youth prospects on Saturday.
Botafogo left-back Carlinhos ruptured his knee ligament earlier this year and is not expected back until next year, meaning the Brazilians remain light on options in the full-back positions.
Kayque is also sidelined with a ligament injury sustained in July and will not be in the Botafogo matchday squad when they travel to Selhurst Park this weekend.
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Guaita; Clyne, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; Doucoure, Schlupp, Mateta, Olise, Eze, Zaha
Botafogo possible starting lineup:
Perri; Borges, Adryelson, Cuesta, Marcal; Carreiro, Tche, Santos, Fernandes, Jefferson; Soares
We say: Crystal Palace 2-0 Botafogo
This clash at Selhurst Park will be a landmark occasion for the Eagles and an exciting game with the Premier League's resumption still over three weeks away.
Given the lack of Palace players selected to represent their nations at the World Cup, a strong home side should be able to get the better of their Brazilian opposition in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
