Crystal Palace

Image source, Getty Images

Alex Howell, BBC Sport

There are fears that the hamstring injury Jesurun Rak-Sakyi picked up playing for Crystal Palace's under-21s last night is substantial.

The 21-year-old picked up the injury in the first half of Palace's Premier League Cup game against Ipswich and had to go off after receiving treatment.

Rak-Sakyi has not yet been for a scan but the initial fears are that the injury could be significant.

The winger was working his way back to full fitness and had been out with a hamstring injury since October. Roy Hodgson had confirmed that Rak-Sakyi was close to being in contention for first team selection but this latest setback will be a big blow.

Elsewhere, there are reports suggesting Michael Olise is going to be out for around two months with another hamstring injury. If the timeline is correct, it will be a massive blow.

This would be the winger's third hamstring injury that has kept him out of games this season.

The 22-year-old winger came on as a half-time substitute against Brighton on Saturday but was withdrawn after only 11 minutes.

Olise underwent hamstring surgery in the summer after picking up an injury playing for France’s Under-21 side at the European Championships.

Marc Guehi who came off on Saturday, but with a knee injury, is expected to be out for weeks and not months and his issue is not thought to be a serious problem.

Alex Pewter, FYP podcast, external

The banner read: "No shared vision, no structured plan." But far from being about a dismal display of football on Saturday, it was another shot at Crystal Palace's owners.

The club appears to be racking up misfortune after misfortune. A heavy loss to a rival team; injuries to their four best outfield players; unresolved but long-standing squad depth issues in attack; and a manager facing ever-increasing pressure.

While it is best to approach all of this with a cold logic devoid of emotion, that is easier said than done for many.

Roy Hodgson is cutting the figure of a doomed government minister facing either resignation or the sack. While it is feasible he could lead the club to survival, those games aren't going to be played in a vacuum. It will have to take place in a fractured atmosphere with fans lacking the appetite for it.

However, as that protest banner suggested, the problems extend beyond the dugout. Ideally, the focus and issues would be limited to the pitch, but on Sunday, the in-fighting between owners appears to have resurfaced, this time via The Guardian, external.

With one owner, John Textor, either directly or indirectly distancing himself from the hiring and continued employment of Hodgson, more battle lines are being drawn in public between him and chairman Steve Parish.

The quandary now is that the job appears less attractive than two weeks ago. The ideal managerial candidates the club may covet are free to await their full options at the end of the season.

Like a historian writing on the fall of a dynasty, even a plucky mid-table one, it is rarely a single event that sends everything crashing down.

This predicament is entirely self-inflicted, and fans want the leadership to take responsibility.

BBC Sport's Phil McNulty has been answering your questions on all things Premier League.

Gary asked: If Roy leaves Crystal Palace who do you bring in to replace him? Which managers deserve a shot with Palace?

Phil answered: I think you are looking at the names that have been mentioned, such as Steve Cooper or Julen Lopetegui. The only question is whether they will take the job before the end of the season should Roy go, or if they would prefer to wait until the summer.

Paddy McCarthy, who is a member of Hodgson’s management team, is highly regarded and has been touted as a future Palace manager, but is the time right?

Obviously, this all hinges on how it pans out for Hodgson.

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BBC Sport pundit

BBC Sport pundit Michael Brown will be answering your questions, giving his insight and opinion around your club.

So what would you like to ask the former Premier League midfielder?

How the season rates so far? Who has been your best player? What does the manager's future hold?

Let us know what you want answered by sending in your questions here

BBC Sport's Phil McNulty has been answering your questions on all things Premier League.

Strata: Phil, Crystal Palace - do you believe the fans have a case to claim their club is in crisis?

Phil: Crisis is a strong word but there is no doubt there is a lot of very understandable unrest around Palace at the moment. There seems to be a sense of aimless drift at Palace and around manager Roy Hodgson at the moment, with people effectively waiting for the end of his reign, whether it comes at the of the season or sooner.

Poor results and performances are, quite rightly, increasing the sense of worry and the problem with drifting is that you can suddenly find yourself drifting into real trouble then struggle to get out of it.

I agree these are very troubling times for Palace and their fans. They should be doing a lot better.

Crystal Palace have won just four of their last 17 Premier League games under manager Roy Hodgson.

We asked for your thoughts on what Palace should do to turn their form around.

Here are some of your thoughts:

Mark: Hodgson has to do the right thing, if he's the fan he says he is, and go. He continues to play Hughes and Schlupp, who are Championship players at best. He plays others out of position and then brings on Olise when the game is lost. There are serious issues as to why the players keep pulling up injured. It has to be down to what he does in training! Please go.

Mike: With the size of squad available, what else can Roy do? The new stadium is probably giving a few headaches and, as long as we avoid the drop, job done. The summer will give Roy's replacement the time needed to add to the squad and build his own team. Changing things now wouldn't help and could put off any potential managerial interest.

Andy: The players have clearly given up on Roy. They have to play the way they are instructed to by the manager, but they obviously have no confidence or belief in it, hence the terrible performances. We need to get a new manager in before it's too late.

Stephen: Ignore the grumblers! Palace are still in the Premier League after 11 years and this is because of Parish and Hodgson. Hodgson is the best manager to keep them there for now, especially without four of their best players.

Casey: The whole club is toxic at the moment, from the pitch up. Hodgson is quite happily persisting in playing players who are not fit and putting them at further risk. The board are also not protecting the club's best interests. If we carry on like this, we run the risk of becoming the new Stoke.

BBC Sport's Phil McNulty has been answering your questions on all things Premier League.

Nick from Kent asked: Hi Phil. The feeling of apathy and discontent at Selhurst Park is building sincere momentum, the likes of which I haven't seen at Palace for some time. Our performances and results have been abysmal.

Is Roy Hodgson’s position now untenable? His one too many digs at our players and fans has turned things extremely toxic.

Phil answered: Hi Nick. I’m not sure Roy’s position is "untenable" but there is an unmistakable feeling that this is all coming to an end. Whether that comes when the season is over or much sooner is the question, but I completely agree there is real discontent amongst what is traditionally one of the most supportive fanbases around. It's a sorry situation.

The performances at Arsenal and Brighton were absolutely awful so the decision for Steve Parish is whether he acts now or waits – thus risking the situation deteriorating further.

I also agree that some of Roy’s statements have been unwise but, in his defence, I think he did publicly acknowledge that about the young players.

One thing is for certain, change is coming at Crystal Palace and it has to come. The question is when it comes.

Follow the full Q&A here

Image source, Getty Images

Alex Howell, BBC Sport

Crystal Palace are in poor form and Roy Hodgson is under pressure.

The Eagles fans have for the second time this season displayed a banner sharing their frustrations to the way the club is being run and the performances on the pitch.

Joachim Andersen and Dean Henderson had animated discussions with fans at the end of the match at Brighton and tensions are high.

Palace have won just four matches in their last 17 Premier League games.

• What should Palace do? Tell us here

If Crystal Palace were to sack Hodgson, any new manager would not find themselves in a good position.

Michael Olise limped off after only 10 minutes when he came on as a half time substitute against Brighton and the Eagles also lost Marc Guehi in the same game with a knee injury.

Eberechi Eze is also out with injury and Cheick Doucoure is out long term with an Achilles injury.

Those four are arguably Palace’s most important players so any potential new manager would arrive at a club low on confidence and without key players.

It's hard to ignore that Crystal Palace's recent form has been worrying.

Roy Hodgson's side have taken just nine points from their last 12 games, with only bottom of the league Sheffield United registering less with six.

They currently sit 14th in the table, five points above the relegation zone, but only two points clear of Brentford who have two games in hand.

Burnley, who have recorded 13 points all season, have picked up nine of those in their last 12 games, and Nottingham Forest and Brentford have earned 10 and 12 points respectively.

As those around Palace start to pick up points, it's also concerning that their goal difference of -11 is only better than Sheffield United's.

Hodgson, who remains optimistic that he's the man to keep them up, has work to do and he will be hoping his new signings are the key to picking up their form and getting much needed points on the board.

We asked you for your thoughts on Saturday's Premier League match between Brighton and Crystal Palace.

Here are some of your comments

Brighton fans

John: Perfect response to the awful performance on Tuesday. If you are going to be up for a match, this HAS to be the one. Did we make Palace look bad, or did they make us look good? Who cares?

Mick: What a difference from the lethargic, ill-disciplined performance on Tuesday. We started well and dominated throughout. Pedro was energetic from the start, with Lamptey and Buonanotte unplayable in the first half. Dunk, Igor, Van Hecke and Hinshelwood back to their best. Great to beat the old enemy, who had no answer to a fantastic performance.

David: Dominant performance from start to finish. Got too complacent with 20 odd minutes to go and were punished with a goal for Palace. Came back with a fourth goal set up by substitute Danny Welbeck, who’s been a consummate professional for us.

Crystal Palace fans

Richard: Awful, Hodgson lined up the same way he did against Arsenal and got pretty much the same result. Also, he took a chance on Olise, who wasn't fully fit, and the lad has pulled up after nine minutes. Terrible man management. Palace's future is in trouble under his leadership.

Chris: Clearly it wasn’t a great performance however I think the score line makes it look much worse. We gifted them three goals in the first half and they didn’t have too many decent chances other than that. Also if you take the two best players out of any team then it’s never going by to go well. Guehi going off injured was the game changer for me.

Rich: I can only put the poor first-half performance down to bad preparation. This is a re-occurring theme and the once hard to break down Hodgson side is now a free for all from the first minute. Only Olise and Eze's magic has been a highlight and now with the ridiculous substitution of Olise at 3-0 down, has this surely sunk Hodgson? I hope so!

Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish strongly contemplated dismissing Roy Hodgson after Saturday's loss to Brighton, but he is struggling to find a replacement who is willing to take over at this stage of the season. (Guardian), external

Want more news? Read Monday's full gossip column

Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from Saturday's five Premier League matches.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up on the action on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries in full on BBC Sounds:

• Newcastle United v Luton Town

• Sheffield United v Aston Villa

• Brighton are unbeaten in their past 10 Premier League home games (W5 D5), with only Liverpool (23) and Manchester City (21) currently enjoying a longer run without defeat on home soil in the top-flight.

• Crystal Palace have won just one of their six Premier League games in which both Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise have failed to start this season (D1 L4), losing four of the past five. Their only such win this term came against 19th placed Burnley in November.

• Since the start of 2017-18 (Brighton’s first season in the Premier League), only two defenders have scored more Premier League goals than Lewis Dunk’s 15 (Marcos Alonso, 19 & Virgil van Dijk, 17). Indeed, five of his past seven goals in the competition have been assisted by Pascal Gross.

• Since the start of 2017-18 (Brighton’s first season in the Premier League), only James Ward-Prowse (22) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (18) have more Premier League assists from dead ball situations than Pascal Groß (14).

• Michael Olise became the first Crystal Palace player to be subbed on and off in a Premier League game since Jason Puncheon vs Manchester City in December 2017.

Roy Hodgson speaking to Match of the day after Crystal Palace's defeat to Brighton: "A very bad result. In the first half we were comprehensively outplayed. They played extremley well.

"I thought in the second half the players did the best they could to stay in the game to give ourselves a chance. It is a derby game, a game that is important to Palace people and when you lose 4-1 it is a bad day.

"It is really decisive when you concede a corner after a minute and the opposing team scores. It does affect you.

"You can always try to analyse a game and find a way of saying 'if only this or that happened' but the bottom line was that Brighton were better than us today, they deserved to win the game. I would say at 3-0 down we kept going despite once again injuries to key players."

On injuries to Marc Guehi and Michael Olise: "Very, very disappointing. With hindsight I know people will say at 3-0 down why bring him on, we brought him on because we had the green light from the medical people that he was able to play the second half.

"They told us to put him on the bench and not start him. When you have one of your best players on the bench, he is there and everyone thinks if he is ready to play half a game, you want to take advantage of that. It would have been tough to say 'stay sitting there'. There's no crystal ball. If someone had said 'if you put him on, he will pull a muscle' then we wouldn't have done so."

Brighton scored three first-half goals as they beat rivals Crystal Palace comfortably in the Premier League to heap pressure on Eagles boss Roy Hodgson.

Palace started poorly and went behind in the opening five minutes for the second successive game when Lewis Dunk rose highest to head in a corner from Pascal Gross.

Roberto de Zerbi's side dominated the ball throughout the first half and they doubled their lead in the 33rd minute when Jack Hinshelwood headed in Tariq Lamptey's cross at the back post.

It got worse for the visitors a minute later when deadline-day signing Adam Wharton was caught in possession, and Gross teed up Facundo Buonanotte to score easily from close range.

Palace scored a consolation when Jean-Philippe Mateta headed in Joachim Andersen's cross with 20 minutes to go before Joao Pedro restored the three-goal lead with an excellently worked goal late on.

Were you at the match or did you follow it from elsewhere?

Brighton fans - let us know your thoughts on the game here

How did you rate the side's performance, Palace fans?

Follow all of the reaction here

There are five games being played in the Premier League on Saturday and we will bring you every moment.

Follow all of the action and reaction here

All times are GMT

Listen to BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Newcastle v Luton

• Sheff Utd v Aston Villa

BBC pundit Chris Sutton is taking on Ski Sunday presenter Ed Leigh for this weekend's Premier League predictions.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

I really don't know what to make of Brighton at the moment - they had a total nightmare against Luton in midweek.

Crystal Palace did much better, coming from behind twice to beat Sheffield United, when we saw how important Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze are to their attack.

Both players picked up knocks against the Blades, however, which must be a little worrying for Palace boss Roy Hodgson even if they should both be fit for this game.

Six of the past nine meetings between these two have ended up in 1-1 draws, so surely that run won't continue?

I think there will be a winner this time and, even though I am not convinced by the Seagulls at the moment, I am expecting some kind of response from them.

Ed's prediction: I am fascinated by this fixture - I lived in Brighton for 13 years until 2007 and I used to go to watch them at the athletics stadium, the Withdean, quite a bit, and I've really enjoyed their progress.

At the moment, their inconsistency is letting them down and I found this one really hard to call, especially after what happened to them against Luton. I thought that might mean they would not be quite as aggressive but, at the same time, Palace have got injury doubts over Olise and Eze so the Seagulls might still go for it.

They've still been pretty strong at home so I think they will take it. 2-0

Read the full predictions