That’s all from me – here’s Ed Aarons’ report from Selhurst.
Palace centre-back Marc Guéhi talks to Sky, and reckons Palace could’ve played better – even with all the injuries they’ve got at the moment. “We can look ourselves in the mirror and say that we could probably do a little better.”
Harsh on his own performance, too: “I don’t think I had a good game today… I have high standards. I don’t think I was good today.”
Gibbs-White speaks to Sky, and he’s good when talking about Murillo.
“He’s an incredible player. His first day training he made a tackle against me, I felt his power, I felt his strength, I was like, ‘I’m not going near him again’. When he was going on this little mazy run I was screaming at him, telling him to ‘pass, pass, pass’. Every time I said pass he did another player, every time I said pass he did another player. It’s an unbelievable run and it’s unlucky he didn’t get the goal in the end.”
A positive for Palace: Rak-Sakyi was very impressive coming on for Schlupp in the first half. Quick feet, the ability to turn the full-back inside-out – he’s one to keep an eye on.
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That was my first glimpse of Murillo, though. He’s got something about him, hasn’t he? That bulldozing run to end the first half, beating player after player, was a bit of magic. There wasn’t much to remember from elsewhere. Palace seem like they’ve got a couple more injuries to deal with – very much the last thing they need at the moment.
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FULL TIME: Crystal Palace 0-0 Nottingham Forest.
And that’s that. A point each for both sides – not exactly a cracking Saturday night. When there were opportunities, there wasn’t a clinical edge.
90 + 5 min: Ayew tries to break through the middle, but Montiel crashes into him.
90 + 3 min: Murillo’s long ball finds Yates, and then a terrific through ball into the box from Domínguez, but Elanga’s first touch is a poor one and Palace get away with it.
90 + 1 min: Five minutes added on – Murillo’s been named Player of the Match. He looks a proper player.
90 min: Forest really pushing now, whipping crosses, hoping to sneak a late one in so they can have a good night in the capital.
89 min: Really tidy play from Domínguez, who cuts in from the right on the edge of the box, trys to curl one into the bottom corner, but Johnstone leaps to his right to pull off a fine save.
87 min: Nothing coming from any corner today – and that’s the case once again.
Eric Peterson retorts (see half-time): “Kari, I’m wary of that part of my psyche that is drawn to your offer. I see that the show is nearing the end, so I might just settle for a peek through the curtains in the window, at least until your bouncers come over and forcibly evict me off the sidewalk. Problem is, I can see past that faded marquee over your door, down the alley, behind the dumpsters, to the hand-painted plywood sign already advertising Lazio-Roma next month - two teams that currently have fewer points combined than Juventus. Now that’s truly a call from the void.”
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86 min: Elanga’s shot is blocked by Hughes – time for yet another corner.
85 min: The ball drops nicely for Kouyaté to thunder one in from range, but he doesn’t get a proper hold of it – corner for Forest…
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84 min: Guéhi is fouled by Yates, who gets a yellow for his efforts.
83 min: Mangala getting some treatement for Forest. He’s replaced by ex-Palace man Kouyaté, who gets some love from Selhurst.
81 min: Andersen is about to hit one in the box, but his teammate Ayew nicks it off him. Corner for Palace… and a chance for Clyne on the edge of the box but he can’t find the desired connection.
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80 min: Free kick for Palace on the left, with Will Hughes to try and find someone in the box.
77 min: Toffolo hits a couple of crosses into the box… eventually the ball drops for Montiel who delivers a staggering volley, both feet off the ground, but it’s blocked and out for a corner.
76 min: Two changes for Forest: Sangaré off for Yates, Wood off for Origi.
75 min: Palace just having no luck with fitness at the moment – now it’s Riedewald in some bother, and he’ll be replaced by Chris Richards.
73 min: Palace surging now, firing in crosses but unable to find the final, perfect connection. The irrepressible Ayew decides to ping a shot in from range but Turner collects well.
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70 min: Clyne plays out wide to Rak-Sakyi, before the ball shifts to the left wing. A cross comes in and Ayew attacks it at the front post, but heads over.
69 min: Mateta is found on the back post but no bother for Turner. Ayew pulls off a neat turn to win another free-kick for Palace.
68 min: Free-kick for Palace from the left-hand side, Riedewald ready to get it in the mixer.
67 min: Rak-Sakyi then finds himself attacking, getting a shot away.
66 min: Rak-Sakyi gets some love and appreciation from the crowd for retreating to cut off Elanga.
66 min: Hudson-Odoi goes off for Elanga.
Peter Oh writes in: “‘Crystal Palace v Nottingham Forest’ has got a mythical ring to it, doesn’t it? I wonder if the decision to broadcast the match on national television here in the U-S-A! U-S-A!! U-S-A!!! is an appeal to fans of Narnia, Robin Hood, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter.”
63 min: Palace passing it around but can’t find one that cuts through Forest’s press. Until… Mitchell finds Édouard, who finds Mateta… but he loses his shape and fires wide when he had had to hit the target. What a chance. Forest suddenly looked all over the place and were there for the taking – massive let-off.
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61 min: Boly heads high and wide.
60 min: Finally some fluency from Forest, and a Toffolo cross finds Montiel advancing into the box, his shot blocked and leading to a corner.
59 min: Ayew tries to go down the outside on the left wing but finds two men on him, cutting out any potential danger.
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58 min: Wingers from both sides keep cutting inside and finding traffic.
56 min: Nothing really clicking for either side so far this half.
55 min: Palace trying to get the dangerous Rak-Sakyi on the ball, but Forest eventually break, Mangala driving forward before Murillo tries an adventurous ball – doesn’t nail it this time round.
52 min: Gibbs-White dinks it in and it goes out for a corner. He stands over this one too. It goes into the mix and eventually finds Mangala, who kicks high and long.
51 min: Hughes concedes a free kick in the middle. Gibbs-White stands over it…
50 min: Toffolo crosses from the left and finds Gibbs-White, whose header doesn’t cause any problems.
49 min: Riedewald has the set piece from the right, but the ball into the box is headed away.
48 min: Palace work it around before Andersen drives through the middle, winning a free-kick, Hudson-Odoi committing the foul.
46 min: Forest win a throw high up on the left wing and Domínguez curls the ball into the box but out for a goalkick.
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About to get underway. Aurier finally departs, having threatened to do so in the first half, with Montiel replacing him.
Here’s some half-time reading for ya.
Kári Tulinius has a message for Eric Peterson (see 27 min): “At the risk of sounding like someone trying to entice the respectable patrons of the cabaret show into the shady establishment down the street, but I’d like to point out to Eric Peterson that if he isn’t getting his kicks from Palace-Forest, Serie A is offering the Derby della Mole between Juventus and Torino.”
HALF TIME: Crystal Palace 0-0 Nottingham Forest
Murillo the star of that half for two moments of brilliance: that ball into the box for Gibbs-White, who hit the post, and then that magical dribble through Palace’s midfield before firing away the shot.
45 + 2 min: AMAZING RUN! Murillo picks up the ball from near the halfway line and skips past several players, jinking his way through before getting the shot off, Johnstone saving. That would’ve been the goal of the season.
45 min: Ayew drives into the centre from the left, Rak-Sakyi tries the same from the right but Forest counter, Wood holding the ball up well up top.
43 min: A replay of that Rak-Sakyi shot – it was a very good block from Toffolo, flinging himself to deny a goal.
42 min: Rak-Sakyi has the crowd buzzing every time he gets the ball – he’s been electric since coming on not long ago.
40 min: No danger from the corner, but Palace now pushing forward, Ayew very much involved on the left and sends a cross in… Rak-Sakyi gets a shot away, but it’s blocked.
40 min: Ayew finds Mitchell on the overlap, and the cross goes deep to Rak-Sakyi, who floors Toffolo with some excellent feet. Corner to Palace.
38 min: Free kick for Palace from the left – Riedewald scuffs it and Hudson-Odoi attacks for Forest on the counter. Palace recover to force Forest back before Aurier whips in from the right wing – but it’s straight to Johnstone.
36 min: Andersen finds Rak-Sakyi on the right wing, who shows off the step-over to skip away and put in a decent ball into the box.
35 min: Ayew now on the left for Palace due to Schlupp’s premature departure. Hudson-Odoi’s been dropping deep for Forest to get himself in the game, but is still searching for space to dribble at the defence.
33 min: Andersen hits a cross from range and finds Ayew free in the middle – but the first-time volley flies high and over. Would’ve been a cracker if he’d found the middle of the boot.
31 min: Neat play from Forest before Sangaré switches to Aurier, who pulls of an acrobatic first touch. Sangaré’s looked particularly classy on the ball in the last few minutes.
30 min: Forest now dominating possession, with Palace yet to test Turner at all.
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28 min: Mitchell and Gibbs-White duel it out on Forest’s right wing – nice little battle developing there.
27 min: A break in play, seems like we’ve got an injury. Aurier is heading off, and Montiel’s going to come on for him. Except, well, he’s actually staying on. Instead Palace are the ones making a change – Schlupp is off and on comes young Rak-Sakyi.
Here’s Eric Peterson: “Hello from Pittsburgh! Sometimes the last game of the day feels like a much-anticipated culmination, the game to which the whole rest of the day of football has been building (like, you know, tomorrow). This one feels like the cabaret show you see after whatever cultural-district performance was the main part of your evening. It’s not the reason you went out in the first place, and it won’t be the most memorable part of your evening (and if it is, there’s a risk it won’t be for the right reasons), but dammit, you took the trouble to get all gussied up for a night on the town in the first place, so you may as well make the most of it.”
22 min: Hudson-Odoi attacks on the left and finds Sangaré in the box – Forest now looking sharp.
21 min: Nearly a stunner! Long, brilliant ball from Murillo into the box and Gibbs-White deftly dinks it first time on the volley over Johnstone’s head… but it hits the post and returns to the keeper!
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20 min: Gibbs-White gets his quick feet moving and there’s a handball shout against Mitchell in the Palace box.
18 min: Another shot from Aurier, seemingly desperate to hit a screamer from range.
16 min: Aurier tries a wild shot but Forest are finally up and about here in south London.
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15 min: The ball finds Toffolo outside the box and he hits the ball ever so sweetly with his left foot, but Johnstone makes a nice save.
14 min: Aurier sends in a lovely cross, which Andersen gets in the way of. Corner for Forest.
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14 min: Scrappy stuff in the midfield and it’s Forest who get the free-kick. Still waiting for someone to inject some class into this game.
12 min: … and Forest end up with a free-kick.
11 min: A bit of energy finally as Hughes intercepts in the middle and drives before trying to set up Edouard. Corner for Palace…
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10 min: All a bit quiet so far, to be perfectly honest.
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8 min: Edouard is definitely going for a cross, which suddenly turns into a scuffed shot looking to catch Turner dozing. But it flies over.
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7 min: The ball nearly breaks nicely for Wood up front, but Palace quickly recover to snuff out any danger.
6 min: Palace dominating possession so far as Ayew tries to whip in a cross from the right – but nothing comes from it.
5 min: Sky bringing up a list of Palace’s injuries – Eze, Olise, Lerma among them. Tough beat for the hosts.
4 min: Palace knock it about before Guéhi goes long and finds Ayew, who holds it up well – but the end of the play is a goal-kick for Forest.
1 min: Forest work it to the right, where Aurier whips a decent-looking ball but Palace clear.
Schlupp kicks off for Palace. Here we go!
First, a minute of applause.
For Elianne ❤️💙
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) October 7, 2023
Our community stands together.#CPFC | #CRYNFO pic.twitter.com/7IYP4nPT2E
And we’re about to kick off. Palace in their red and blue stripes, Forest in those wavy sky-blue and white garms.
So that’s both sides missing key threats in attack. Fingers crossed we’ve still got a few goals coming in…
Steve Cooper says Awoniyi has picked up a groin injury which rules him out for “probably a month”.
Roy Hodgson speaks to Sky, first on his 400 games in Our League:
“I’m proud of course, it’s such a competitive league, it’s grown so much since I came back in 1997 at Blackburn Rovers so it’s been fantastic to have been a part of that journey and racked up so many games.”
On his lengthy injury list:
“We know what we’ve got to do, it is what it is, you can’t keep crying or bleating about it. It happens to all teams and I think our team to start the game is a strong one and if we can keep those guys on the field and if they can get through the 90 minutes without putting too much stress on our bench then I’m still confident we can do well.”
From Blackburn to Fulham, Liverpool to West Brom, Palace to Watford… and then back to Palace again. Well in, Roy.
❤️💙#CPFC | #CRYNFO pic.twitter.com/iVAvtGM4TJ
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) October 7, 2023
Elsewhere, scenes at Old Trafford.
So three changes for Forest, with Toffolo, Wood and Gibbs-White in, Niakhaté, Awoniyi and Elanga out.
From the side that defeated Manchester United, there’s no Ward, Eze and Doucouré. Clyne, Riedewald and Édouard are in.
The teams
Crystal Palace: Johnstone, Clyne, Guéhi, Andersen, Mitchell, Hughes, Riedewald, Ayew, Schlupp, Édouard, Mateta
Subs: Matthews, Holding, Tomkins, Richards, Ozoh, Rak-Sakyi, Ebiowei, Ola-Adebomi, Raymond
Nottingham Forest: Turner, Aurier, Boly, Murillo, Toffolo, Sangaré, Mangala, Domínguez, Gibbs-White, Wood, Hudson-Odoi
Subs: Worrall, Williams, Kouyaté, Andrey Santos, Elanga, Yates, Vlachodimos, Origi, Montiel
Referee: Craig Pawson
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Preamble
Hello, hello, hello and welcome to our coverage of Crystal Palace’s clash at home against Nottingham Forest. Palace had a more than decent day out at Old Trafford last Saturday, with Joachim Andersen belting a half-volley past André Onana for a 1-0 victory. Forest, on the other hand, settled for a point at home against Brentford after they went down to 10 men, Moussa Niakhaté sent off in the 56th minute.
The bad news for Palace: they’re without Eberechi Eze, who’s picked up a hamstring injury, the 25-year-old joining Michael Olise, another creative force, on the sidelines. Forest turned up in London last month and knocked over Chelsea; they’ll be eyeing up further joy in the capital.
Kick off is at 5.30pm BST – I’ll be here to keep you company all the way.
