Crystal Palace will be desperate to get their Premier League season up and running when they visit Fulham on Saturday afternoon.
The Eagles have lost their opening two league matches, conceding six goals. Theur only goal of the campaign was an own goal.
That makes the Palace trip to Craven Cottage a significant one, particularly with their European campaign starting and another cup fixture approaching.
Palace need a response, and they have a favourable recent record against their London rivals to draw confidence from.
Match preview
Palace currently sit 18th in the Premier League with zero points, but the table tells only part of the story at this early stage.
The bigger concern for new manager Pierre Sage is the defensive regression.
Palace kept 12 clean sheets last season, but have now conceded at least twice in each of their last eight Premier League matches.
The attack is hardly providing much encouragement either.
Palace were among the lowest scorers in the Premier League last season and have managed just one goal this term. Sage is under pressure to find a solution quickly.
A third consecutive league defeat would be the first time in his managerial career that he has suffered such a run.
However, Palace have every reason to believe they can turn things around against Fulham.
The Eagles have not lost at Craven Cottage since January 2005 and have won on each of their last three visits in all competitions.
They also beat Fulham 2-1 in December and repeated that scoreline in a pre-season meeting last month.
Fulham are hardly flying either. Alvaro Arbeloa’s side have lost their first two league outings and could be heading into serious trouble if they lose number three.
They have won just two of their last 13 Premier League meetings with Palace.
The Cottagers have failed to beat Palace in their last eight home meetings in all competitions.
Crystal Palace team news
Sage confirmed that Ismaila Sarr is unavailable.
Jean-Philippe Mateta is also sidelined with a thigh problem, while Chadi Riad is out with a knee injury.
The Palace boss otherwise has a largely healthy squad and could hand debuts to some of the club’s deadline-day arrivals.
Honest Ahanor, Ben Chilwell, Quinten Timber and Dario Osorio are all available, giving Sage additional options after Palace’s busy summer.
Axel Disasi, the 28-year-old French ‘machine,’ could start ahead of Takehiro Tomiyasu in defence to shore up the rearguard.
Crystal Palace predicted starting XI (3-4-2-1)
Jordan Henderson; Jaydee Canvot, Chris Richards, Axel Disasi; Anan Khalaili, Daichi Kamada, Adam Wharton, Tyrick Mitchell; Dwight McNeil, Yeremy Pino; Jorgen Strand Larsen.
