Crystal Palace

Adam Millington
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Crystal Palace came into the return tie with an aggregate lead which was anything but comfortable following a tight 1-0 win at Selhurst Park last week.

They dominated possession in that game and spent the match camped in Fredrikstad's third as the Norwegians struggled to produce any build-up play, despite a spirited display.

At home, though, it was a somewhat different story as the Palace backline - including Marc Guehi despite continued transfer speculation - were put under pressure.

Emil Holten's physicality made the Fredrikstad forward a handful, while they managed to string together good attacking moves in the final third.

They also looked to trouble Palace through set-pieces, making the most of Daniel Eid's long throws, but the visitors had them covered.

And for all their increased positivity, Fredrikstad still lacked any real bite up top to test Henderson, allowing Palace to edge through courtesy of Mateta's first-leg winner.

Having also scored just once in their two Premier League games and lost Eberechi Eze to Arsenal, Glasner's side also showed a lack of potency up front.

Defender Chris Richards flicked a header wide and Mateta was denied just before the end after having an earlier header saved, but Palace lacked the fluidity to create more chances.

While Oliver Glasner has led his side to the league phase, this testing and hard-fought play-off will show how tough the competition could be for the Eagles and how more attacking options are needed in the squad.

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Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner, speaking to Channel 5: "Huge achievement - going into the group stage it was our second goal. The first one was winning the Community Shield.

"Against an opposition which is not easy to play. We had to accept it and the players did well and defended the box excellently. We know we have to and can play better in possession.

"The story of the game is we lost too many balls too easily.

"Of course, we have to improve how we play and how quickly we play.

"We have to go on a plane to come back to London.

"We achieved our second goal this season [reaching the group stages]."

On transfers: "I told everyone at the club I didn't want to talk about transfers today.

"Our job is to be successful going into the group stage. I can not be deflecting to this transfer noise."

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Crystal Palace defender Chris Richards, speaking to Channel 5 after the Eagles booked their spot in the league phase of the Conference League: "We have been defending really well so we were hoping we could continue doing that.

"Every game is not going to be pretty, but as long as you get the result, that's the big thing.

"Everybody is super excited. We are an ambitious club. Now it is time to win some games in Europe. We are ready to make history.

"A hostile environment but Fredrikstad are a really good team. It wasn't pretty but we got the result we needed."

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

What did you make of Palace's display?

Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner has named his side for the return leg against Fredrikstad.

Daichi Kamada returns from injury as Crystal Palace make three changes from the side who drew 1-1 with Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

Will Hughes is absent, while Tyrick Mitchell and Justin Devenny drop to the bench.

Borna Sosa and Jefferson Lerma also come into the starting line-up.

Crystal Palace XI: Henderson, Richards, Lacroix, Guehi, Munoz, Wharton, Lerma, Sosa, Sarr, Mateta, Kamada.

Subs: Matthews, Benitez, Mitchell, Clyne, Esse, Rodney, Devenny, Cardines.

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Crystal Palace are closing in on the £26m signing of Villarreal winger Yeremy Pino following Eberechi Eze's departure to Arsenal.

The 15-cap Spain international has a reported release clause of £69m but with only two years left on his Villarreal contract Pino could move to Selhurst Park as something of a bargain – but he does not represent a direct replacement for Palace's former talisman.

Like Eze, Pino is a winger, although he plays on the right, rather than the left. Pino's natural game means he hugs the touchline rather than drifts into central areas as Eze did to such great effect for the Eagles.

The skillsets of the two attackers also differ. Pino is less of a direct goal threat than Eze and dribbles on far fewer occasions, but he is effective at getting into crossing positions, provides a similar number of assists and is a more tenacious tackler – a facet of Pino's game that may prove useful for Oliver Glasner's preference to defend deep, win back possession and counter quickly.

Despite not being a direct Eze replacement, there's no doubt that Pino could prove to be an astute signing. Since breaking into the Villarreal side in 2021-22, only three players aged under 23 have made more starts in the big five European leagues - despite an ACL injury ruling Pino out of most of the 2023-24 campaign - meaning he is hugely experienced for a player in his age bracket.

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The draw has been made for the Carabao Cup third round, with 15 Premier League clubs having made it through or entering at this stage.

There are two all-Premier League ties, while holders Newcastle host League One Bradford City.

Ties will take place across two weeks, beginning on 15 and 22 September.

All the fixtures featuring top-flight sides are shown below in the order they were drawn:

• Port Vale v Arsenal

• Swansea City v Nottingham Forest

• Lincoln City v Chelsea

• Tottenham Hotspur v Doncaster Rovers

• Brentford v Aston Villa

• Huddersfield Town v Manchester City

• Liverpool v Southampton

• Newcastle United v Bradford City

• Wolves v Everton

• Crystal Palace v Millwall

• Burnley v Cardiff City

• Barnsley v Brighton

• Fulham v Cambridge United

See the full draw

Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner has been speaking to the media before Thursday's Conference League second leg at Fredrikstad (kick-off 17:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Glasner confirmed Will Hughes "can't play tomorrow, he is not available". However, Daichi Kamada is back after injury: "He is back two weeks after it. The expectations were more four to six weeks. We need to have players available and ready for the game."

• The Eagles boss said they are training on Fredrikstad's artificial pitch as they have to "get used to it" with many players having not played on one for a number of years: "We have to accept it and do the best from it, and have the clear goal to win the game tomorrow. There's no tactical side to playing a little bit more passive and waiting, so we are here to win the game."

• On expectations in the competition: "It would be arrogant to think when you play a competition for the first time to talk about winning it. It's the first time Palace plays outside England a competitive game, so it's important to stay humble and this is what we are doing as a team. We are going step by step."

• Glasner insisted they "want to show" what they have learned from the first leg, which they won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Jean-Philippe Mateta: "Every team gets a chance and Fredrikstad had one chance at the end. We defended their set-plays very well and we didn't give them transitions, so I think we did very well. In the final third, we created good chances and were patient against their deep block."

• On European football for Palace: "It is the reward for all of us. My family was in London yesterday and I went to Battersea Park with my wife and my daughter and played mini-golf. Just before us there was a family with two boys - season ticket-holders. Because we had to wait behind them, we had some small talk. We could see how they were enjoying it - they were saying 'thank you'. We could see and feel how much it meant to the Palace supporters."

• He added: "The away section will be sold out tomorrow and we will give our best. We never thought this would happen. Now it has happened so we should enjoy going to Norway, enjoy this beautiful country and a nice game - and hopefully come away with a win."

• On the squad's determination to win: "We all completely trust this group of players and we know we can rely on them. We know everyone travelling with us will do his best to get the win and this gives us a good feeling."

Crystal Palace are preparing for talks with Liverpool for English attacking midfielder Harvey Elliott, 22, as they accelerate plans to find a replacement for England international Eberechi Eze, 27. (Football Insider, external)

Bayer Leverkusen and Galatasaray are set to rival Crystal Palace for the signature of 30-year-old Manchester City and Switzerland defender Manuel Akanji. (Independent, external)

Real Madrid could try to sign Crystal Palace's 21-year-old England midfielder Adam Wharton if Spain midfielder Dani Ceballos, 29, leaves the club. (AS - in Spanish, external)

Crystal Palace have struck an agreement in principle with Villarreal for 22-year-old Spain midfielder Yeremy Pino in a deal that could be worth about £26m. (AS - in Spanish, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Alex Pewter
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Amid a whirlwind of Crystal Palace stories and fixtures, there is only one topic deserving of our full focus. Eberechi Eze.

His exit, of course, is entangled with what comes next for the team, without the necessary breathing room to sit back and consider a player of such importance over the last five seasons.

The placing of Eze within the annals of Crystal Palace history had been a tricky one to ponder, at least for those who consider such questions. A year ago, I would have thought of him as an excellent player in that broad context, bordering on, if not quite at that "all-time great" level.

Yet, 2025 changed all that. In football, accolades aren't everything, but Eze has helped achieve footballing immortality for a once trophyless club, with his goals in the FA Cup last season.

Eze can be best described as being a scorer of great goals, rather than a great finisher, and both of his efforts at Wembley undoubtedly fell into that category.

While goals and assists steal the headlines, with Eze, you have to think of the player with the ball at his feet. It is often said that he glides with the football, not due to a lack of superlatives or imagination, but because that is the most appropriate word. It is a dribbling style seemingly unique to him, casual in nature, but like an escape artist, he found ways to get free of defenders.

His signing set down the marker for what Dougie Freedman was able to build in the transfer market in the years that followed, with an emphasis on young Championship talents to build around.

The final step of that process was always for Eze to leave, to fund the next generation. His own story hasn't ended, and even if the chapter in South London has closed - it was a memorable one.

For Crystal Palace, without Wilfried Zaha, Michael Olise and Ebere Eze, the team may be more about endeavour than innovation, but as ever, the season doesn't stop, and the show must go on.

Find more from Alex Pewter at FYP podcast, external

Crystal Palace have tabled a £15m offer for Manchester City's Switzerland defender Manuel Akanji, 30. (Sun), external

The Eagles have also entered the race to sign Toulouse's French centre-back Jaydee Canvot, 19, after Aston Villa had a bid rejected. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.

Here are some of your comments:

Palace fans

Leslie: I thought Palace had the upper hand first half but very subdued in the second half. Probably a point each way is about right, but we need some signings - and quick.

Andy: Not a bad performance, but inconsistent defending led to the equaliser, with Mitchell not goalside. Overall a positive day and we need to keep this going forward for Thursday.

Adrian: I thought we did really well considering how tired the players looked at the end and how small the squad is. Could have won the game in that first half, but Forest deserved their point in the end. Need about five new players including two attackers.

Forest fans

Sean: On any given day Crystal Palace are a very tough team to play against, even if all the headlines are about Eze. The rest of the team are still very difficult to beat, even more so at a riled-up Selhurst Park. So to come away with a battling draw, and a goal that was the result of Nuno tactically tweaking the line-up, is pleasing. Good to see some of the new signings getting some minutes too. There's some promise there. Sels made some good saves too.

John: Not enough intensity in the first half but a better second-half display - 1-1 a fair result.

Luke: A tricky hurdle, which was made even trickier by the events on Friday, has been navigated. Positives to take from the game, and arguably we should have won it with the chances at the end. You can only imagine the new signings will get better as they bed in, and you can see this squad doing well - if the Nuno situation is resolved swiftly.

Pundits Troy Deeney and Rob Green join host Gabby Logan to bring you the action and talking points from Sunday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Crystal Palace 1-1 Nottingham Forest

• Everton 2-0 Brighton

• Fulham 1-1 Manchester United

Oliver Glasner spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Crystal Palace's draw against Nottingham Forest: "I think both sides deserved the draw. We took the lead but our legs looked a little fatigued. We've had an intense start to the season. In the end the result is fair.

"We always know we can count on our supporters and fans. They did it again. It's always great to play at Selhurst. I'm more or less delighted with our start to the season. This was our fourth competitive game, fourth time unbeaten. There's a lot of noise around us but a lot of credit to the players to deal with the situation.

"I'm very confident [there will be signings before the transfer deadline]. I know and I can see everybody is working really hard to get the right players in. Everybody knows we have to do it and I'm pretty sure we will do it."

Did you know?

• Crystal Palace are unbeaten in their last 12 matches across all competitions (W5 D7); their longest run without a defeat as a top-flight club since October 1990 (13 games).

• Five of the last six Premier League meetings between Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest have ended in draws (one victory for Forest) – indeed, since the start of the 2022-23 season, this fixture has produced the most draws in the competition (5).

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Crystal Palace's performance

What did you make of Nottingham Forest's display?

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

The welcome news for Crystal Palace fans is that captain Marc Guehi starts today, amid speculation about his future at the club.

There are two changes to the side which started the win over Fredrikstad on Thursday - Chris Richards and Tyrick Mitchell come into the side.

And the lack of depth is illustrated by the presence of two goalkeepers, Remi Matthews and Walter Benitez, on the bench.

Crystal Palace XI: Henderson; Lacroix, Guehi, Richards; Munoz, Wharton, Hughes, Mitchell; Sarr, Devenny; Mateta

Subs: Matthews, Benitez, Lerma, Clyne, Esse, Edouard, Sosa, Rodney, Cardines

Nottingham Forest are unchanged from the XI that started their 3-1 win over Brentford last Sunday.

The three players signed by the club in the meantime - Douglas Luiz, Omari Hutchinson and James McAtee - are all on the bench.

Chris Wood has scored 33 Premier League goals in 53 appearances under Nuno Espirito Santo - can he add more today in what might be the manager's last match in charge?

Nottingham Forest XI: Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Sangare, Anderson; Ndoye, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood

Subs: Gunn, Morato, Douglas Luiz, Kalimuendo, Igor Jesus, Hutchinson, Yates, McAtee, Boly

There are three games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Crystal Palace v Nottingham Forest (14:00) - BBC Radio 5 Live

• Everton v Brighton (14:00) - BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Fulham v Man Utd (16:30) - BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times BST

Follow the 14:00 games here

And get Fulham v Man Utd here