Hoping that the eighth time will be the charm in the 2024-25 Premier League season, winless Crystal Palace take on a Nuno Espirito Santo-less Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Monday evening.
The Tricky Trees earned a respectable 1-1 draw against Chelsea prior to the international break, but the Eagles were bested 1-0 by league leaders Liverpool on their own patch.
Match preview
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Demonstrating their defensive nous at the home of free-scoring Chelsea two weekends ago, Nottingham Forest quelled the threat of Cole Palmer and co for nearly an hour at Stamford Bridge, where a West London upset was on the cards when Chris Wood poked home the opener.
However, the away end's delirium lasted all of eight minutes as Noni Madueke found a gap to level matters for the hosts, who would go on the warpath when James Ward-Prowse was comically sent off for handball, but the 10-man Garibaldi refused to go down waving the white flag.
In the end, goalkeeping duo Robert Sanchez and Matz Sels stole the spotlights in a 105-minute spectacular, one which extended Forest's winless streak in the top division to three matches, although they still have just the one defeat next to their name after seven matches.
Twelfth in the Premier League table after Saturday's results, Monday's fixture will be the first of three that Forest must navigate without Santo in the dugout; the Tricky Trees boss was handed a two-game suspension for his improper conduct against Brighton & Hove Albion, which also triggered a suspended one-match ban.
The Portuguese will watch on helplessly as his Forest side endeavour to snap a dampening seven-match winless run at the City Ground in all tournaments - not since 2012 have they failed to prevail in eight on the spin at home - but only Liverpool (two) have shipped fewer than Forest's six goals at the wrong end thus far.
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Speaking of seven-match winless sequences, Palace have endured that exact miserable fate at the start of the 2024-25 season, a far cry from the scintillating Oliver Glasner unit that took 19 points from their last seven matches of the 2023-24 campaign.
Two straight losses to two Merseyside outfits depleted morale further just before international football intervened, as after succumbing to Dwight McNeil's mastery in a 2-1 loss to Everton, Palace were conquered by Liverpool on October 5 courtesy of Diogo Jota's effort.
That result left the Eagles below the dotted line in 18th spot, and even though 10 goals conceded represents the best defensive record inside the bottom six, a paltry five strikes is currently the worst attacking record in the top flight.
However, three of those efforts have come on the road, where Palace are on a six-game scoring streak in the Premier League since a 1-0 loss to Bournemouth at the beginning of April, but not since the 1992-93 season - when they finished 20th and were relegated - have they failed to win any of their first eight matches of a league campaign.
Furthermore, the Eagles faithful have to go back to December 2011 for their side's most recent triumph over Forest - where Glenn Murray struck the only goal of the game - and the Tricky Trees have since gone unbeaten in seven consecutive head-to-heads, although five of those have ended level.
Team News
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In addition to Santo's three-game touchline ban, Forest gem Morgan Gibbs-White must also serve an extra suspension after pleading guilty to his own improper conduct charge in the Brighton draw, although his ban has arguably come at an ideal time after he picked up an ankle injury against Chelsea.
Ward-Prowse's dismissal for two bookable offences at Stamford Bridge has also triggered a one-match suspension for the midfielder, so Nicolas Dominguez and Anthony Elanga should be promoted to the first XI in place of the banned pair.
On a more pleasing note, first-choice goalkeeper Sels is seemingly OK to play despite pulling out of the Belgium squad, but Ibrahim Sangare (thigh) and Danilo (ankle) are out for the long-term.
Palace also have a handful of definite absentees for Monday's game, as Chadi Riad (knee), Chris Richards (thigh), Cheick Doucoure (toe) and Matheus Franca (groin) are all on the treatment table, while Matt Turner cannot face his parent club.
However, Daniel Munoz has recovered from the adductor injury that forced him off in the first half of the Liverpool defeat, while Adam Wharton has also been given the all-clear to feature, despite withdrawing from England Under-21 duty with a similar issue.
Having given Liverpool a brilliant run for their money a fortnight ago, it would not be surprising to see Glasner stick with an identical Palace XI, as Eberechi Eze, Eddie Nketiah and Ismaila Sarr continue in the final third while Jean-Philippe Mateta warms the bench.
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Sels; Aina, Murillo, Milenkovic, Moreno; Yates, Dominguez; Hudson-Odoi, Anderson, Elanga; Wood
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Henderson; Guehi, Chalobah, Lacroix; Munoz, Wharton, Lerma, Mitchell; Sarr, Nketiah, Eze
We say: Nottingham Forest 1-1 Crystal Palace
When Forest lose Gibbs-White, they lose their most impactful offensive player, so defence may be the best form of attack for a Tricky Trees side who have excelled at the back throughout the current campaign.
However, a two-week reset came at a most opportune time for the Eagles, who should be more than good enough for a point at the City Ground, although their agonising wait for all three will surely continue.
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Ben Knapton
