Sunderland face Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon
Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi was forced off with a groin complaint during England’s 2-0 win over Andorra at the weekend, with the Eagles set to face Sunderland on Saturday afternoon.
The centre-back has found himself in the headlines in recent days after a proposed deadline day move to Liverpool fell through at the last minute. Due to the timing of the international break, Guehi has not had an opportunity to feature for Palace since, but was handed a start by Thomas Tuchel during the Three Lions’ most recent World Cup qualifier at Villa Park.
Ultimately, however, the 25-year-old failed to complete the full 90 minutes, and was withdrawn for Ezri Konsa with a little under a quarter of an hour left to play. In a post-match press conference, Tuchel explained that the Palace captain “said at half-time [that] he felt his groin.”
As yet, there are no concrete indications at to the extent of Guehi’s injury, or whether he will be fit and available to feature against Sunderland at Selhurst Park later this week. It is understood, however, that he is regarded as a potential doubt for England upcoming clash against Serbia on Tuesday evening.
Looking ahead to that match, Tuchel said: “It will be a good test and we’re looking forward to it. We feel that we are ready to step up to the atmosphere, the physicality and it will be an emotional, very important game in the group. We will be prepared for that. We just spoke about what we want to build, to have more clarity in our game, what the patterns are and we were working on this throughout the week.
“The next two days [Sunday and Monday] will be about Serbia. We will have to adapt to the adversity and overcome adversity and let’s see what the pitch is like, how the game plays out. You never know - you can have red cards, yellow cards, whatever. We need to be ready for everything. We will face the same formation, the defensive block of 5-4-1 with individual quality up front with tall physical strikers. A big test is coming on Tuesday.”
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What other Crystal Palace news is there ahead of Sunderland clash?
Elsewhere, Crystal Palace are reportedly dealing with growing uncertainty over the future of manager Oliver Glasner. According to reports from Football Insider, tensions behind the scenes at Selhurst Park have intensified, with disputes over transfer policy creating friction between Glasner and the hierarchy. The situation is believed to have reached boiling point on deadline day, when the Austrian coach threatened to resign if Guehi was sold to Liverpool.
Palace had lined up replacements, but Glasner stood firm and blocked the deal, leaving him with the upper hand as speculation over his position grows. Correspondent Pete O’Rourke reported: “Things have become a bit tense behind the scenes – there is no getting away from that,” while adding that Glasner’s stance has left Palace in a difficult position as his contract ticks down.
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