[2026-27 English Premier League] Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest: Match Preview Kick-off: 22:00 on October 11 (Korea time)
Crystal Palace host Nottingham Forest at Selhurst Park at 22:00 Korea time on October 11 in the sixth round of the 2026-27 Premier League season. Oliver Glasner returns to this ground for the first time since leaving Crystal Palace, now in charge of the away side. The teams are separated by one point, but they have earned their recent points in different ways and will miss players with different roles in this match.
1. Match overview and team form
The teams meet after around three weeks without a league game, since their last matches on September 19-20. Crystal Palace face Lyon in the Europa League after this match, but manager Pierre Sage has not yet rested league starters ahead of European fixtures.
League form this season Record after 5 matches: Crystal Palace, 1 win, 1 draw, 3 losses, 6 goals scored and 11 conceded / Nottingham Forest, 1 win, 2 draws, 2 losses, 4 goals scored and 5 conceded Key absentees today: Crystal Palace, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Axel Disasi, Chadi Riad, Dean Henderson and Jean-Philippe Mateta / Nottingham Forest, Igor Jesus and Nikola Milenković League record by venue: Crystal Palace at home, 2 losses, 3 goals scored and 7 conceded / Nottingham Forest away, 1 win, 1 draw, 4 goals scored and 3 conceded
Crystal Palace's recent improvement has come at the back. They conceded 11 goals in their first 4 league matches, then kept their first clean sheet of the season in a 0-0 draw away to Leeds United just before the break. Sage said the team had spent a week preparing defensively for that game. Crystal Palace kept numbers in the penalty area and dealt with second balls after Leeds crosses and long throws. In earlier matches, opponents repeatedly scored with headers from wide deliveries or by shooting again after the first effort had been blocked.
The problem is that Palace cannot keep the centre-back combination from the Leeds game. Chris Richards, Tomiyasu and Jaydee Canvot formed the back three, but Tomiyasu is out injured. Disasi is suspended and Riad is also unavailable through injury. Onestis Anor, who has 1 league start, or Óscar Mingueza, who has yet to start a Premier League match, is expected to fill in. If the improvement against Leeds came from the team's shape and defensive reactions, it can carry over with a new combination. If it depended on the players' understanding, this match against Gibbs-White will be a tougher test. Walter Benítez, who has been playing in place of Henderson, saved a close-range shot against Leeds.
In attack, Palace have stood out when exploiting space left behind by opponents pushing forward. Away to Fulham, Tyrick Mitchell ran in behind the opposition's right-back and scored twice as Crystal Palace won 3-2 with 36% possession. Daichi Kamada helped create both goals against Ipswich Town, supplying the ball from the right. At Leeds, by contrast, 8 of Palace's 12 shots came from outside the penalty area. Against a team that keeps its shape, it will be difficult to find chances inside the box for Jørgen Strand Larsen. With Mateta out, Strand Larsen is expected to lead the line again. If Ismaïla Sarr starts, Kamada could move into midfield.
Nottingham Forest's attacking returns have varied by venue. They have not scored in 3 home league matches this season, but drew 2-2 away to Liverpool and won 2-1 away to Aston Villa. Their opener against Liverpool came after goalkeeper Matz Sels sent a long ball forward. Jesus held it between two defenders and linked up with Morgan Gibbs-White and Dan Ndoye. Against Villa, Liam Delap put Forest ahead with a long-range shot, then substitute Jesus scored the winner after the opposition went down to 10 men. Forest scored twice in both away games, but the goals came in different ways.
Jesus' calf injury affects Forest's away attack in two ways. He is the player who received Sels' long balls and laid them off to the second line, and the substitute who came on to score the winner. He is unavailable this time. Delap is expected to start up front, but the match footage so far has not shown whether he can hold the ball up and link play at the same level as Jesus did against Liverpool. Ousmane Diomande, who started the last 2 matches, could take Milenković's place. Left wing-back Neco Williams missed Friday training with a fever, but Glasner expects him to be available.
Both teams generally use a 3-4-2-1. Glasner built Crystal Palace's system while in charge, and Sage has kept it while asking the team to press high and link attacks quickly. Glasner has kept Nottingham Forest's starting lineup and basic shape relatively consistent. Reports say he also tested a back four in a closed-door friendly during the international break, so we will need to see the actual setup before judging the wide matchups.
Crystal Palace have gone 8 Premier League meetings without a win against Nottingham Forest, with 6 draws and 2 losses, and every match finished with 2 goals or fewer. The last 3 all ended 1-1. But Glasner was in the Crystal Palace dugout for the last 5 of those meetings. The team selection under Sage is different, and Glasner is now with Nottingham Forest, so those past results cannot determine how this match will unfold.
2. Matchup analysis
The key early question is where Crystal Palace choose to press. If the home side push their wing-backs and midfielders high in search of their first home league win, Nottingham Forest will have chances to play into the space behind them. Ndoye ran in behind after receiving a long pass at Liverpool, and Gibbs-White turned the ball Jesus had held up into the opening goal. If Palace instead keep their defensive shape, as they did away to Leeds, Forest will have to break down a compact defence with the ball. Against Coventry City, Nottingham Forest had 63% possession and 24 shots but managed only 3 on target and lost 1-0.
Both scenarios come with different conditions from Forest's recent away games. Even if Crystal Palace push forward, Forest no longer have Jesus, who made the first connection from long balls. If Palace sit back, Forest will need to rely more on short combinations through Gibbs-White than on the attacks in behind that brought success away from home. The new back three's decisions will matter when Gibbs-White looks to receive the ball between Palace's defence and midfield. If a centre-back steps out to follow him, Delap or Ndoye can run in behind. If the defender holds position, Gibbs-White has time to turn and pick a pass. If Wharton and his midfield partners limit the passes into him, the defence will have fewer decisions to make.
On one flank, Crystal Palace's Mitchell will face Nottingham Forest's Daniel Muñoz. Mitchell scored against Fulham by running in behind the opposition's right-sided defender. Muñoz was beaten in the build-up to Coventry's goal when Jota da Silva received the goalkeeper's long diagonal pass. If Forest lose the ball after Muñoz has joined the attack, Mitchell can target the space he leaves. If Mitchell pushes forward first, Muñoz and Forest's attacking midfielders may find space at the other end. Muñoz played alongside Mitchell at Crystal Palace last season; now he has to stop those runs.
The other flank depends on Williams' fitness. If Williams is able to start and push forward on the left, Crystal Palace right wing-back Anan Khalaili may spend more time defending. Against Ipswich, the opposition's left-sided players pinned Khalaili and Richards back, limiting Palace's attacks down the right. If Williams cannot play or is not fully fit, Khalaili and either Kamada or Sarr could attack down that side more often. If Kamada starts in midfield, Palace may have fewer direct deliveries from the right than they did against Ipswich, so the starting lineup will matter too.
Inside Crystal Palace's penalty area, the second ball matters as much as the first aerial contest on a cross. Their goals conceded this season have repeatedly come from headers after crosses and shots following a save or a contested loose ball. Nottingham Forest have also scored against Palace in recent meetings after long throws and corners caused a scramble. Forest had 31 crosses without scoring against Coventry, and none of their league goals this season has come from a header after a cross, so we cannot assume Palace's weakness in the air will automatically lead to a goal. Still, if a newly assembled centre-back pairing loses track of opponents after clearing the ball, Gibbs-White could get a shot away.
The timing of goals may also shape each team's approach. Crystal Palace have been behind at half-time in 4 of their 5 league matches. Nottingham Forest have gone into half-time at 0-0 in 4 of their 5 games, and all 5 league goals they have conceded this season came after the 55th minute. Sage brought on Chilwell in the second half against Fulham and got the winning goal, and he also raised Palace's tempo with a half-time change against Leeds. If Forest score first, they will still have to keep Palace's wide attacks at bay after the break. If Palace score first, Forest will have to take the initiative, giving the home side chances to use the pace of Mitchell and Sarr when the visitors push forward.
3. Final view and prediction
Our predicted score is 1-1. Both teams have created chances when opponents push forward, while they have struggled to break down sides that keep their shape. Crystal Palace remain at risk of conceding in the first half with a new centre-back combination, but Nottingham Forest must also rebuild their away attack without Jesus as the first link for long balls. If Palace avoid conceding early, both sides may take longer to choose their moments to attack.
If the first goal comes, we expect the team that falls behind to chase the game and the sides to trade a goal each. If Nottingham Forest score first, Sage's wide substitutions in the second half and Mitchell's runs could target Forest's tendency to concede after the 55th minute. If Crystal Palace score first, Forest could find Gibbs-White in front of the new back three or attack a loose ball after a set piece. Forest have drawn level in 3 of the 4 matches in which they have fallen behind this season, but have not lost any of those games. That record, along with both teams' limited options to change their centre-forward, gives us less reason to expect another goal after an equaliser.
The market gives Nottingham Forest a slight edge, pointing to their consecutive away scoring games, Palace's home goals conceded and the home side's defensive absences. The risk of Palace's new back three failing to contain Gibbs-White or second balls in the penalty area is real. But Jesus was involved in both of Forest's away scoring games this season, and Crystal Palace are also comfortable letting opponents have the ball. We see a draw as more likely than taking Forest's away scoring record as a direct sign of an away win here. This view would shift towards an away win if Palace push both wing-backs forward from the start, concede first, and then fail to create chances in the penalty area against a Nottingham Forest side sitting deep.
