Crystal Palace return to Selhurst Park for their first home Premier League fixture of the new season on Sunday, when Nottingham Forest make the trip to South London.
This is one of the most-eagerly anticipated fixtures of the weekend, given the animosity between the two clubs due to the debacle surrounding Palace’s demotion to the Conference League this summer.
Match preview
Instead of Nottingham Forest needing to play a Conference League qualifier on Thursday night, it was Crystal Palace, as the Eagles were sent down from the Europa League over issues surrounding multi-club ownership, with the Garibaldi taking their place in UEFA’s second-tier competition.
That has caused huge friction between the two fanbases, as Forest made no secret of their attempts to push UEFA to act on Palace’s case.
The demotion has taken a little bit of shine off a glorious summer for Palace, who have now won the FA Cup, the Community Shield and played their first ever match in Europe, beating Fredrikstad 1-0 on Thursday.
However, Eberechi Eze was not in Oliver Glasner’s squad, as the England international edges ever nearer to a move to Arsenal, which will come as a hammer blow to the supporters, less than two weeks until the transfer deadline.
Eze should have marked his final game by scoring the winning goal away at Chelsea last Sunday, but his free kick was disallowed on a loose technicality that has never before been punished in the Premier League.
That goalless stalemate means Palace have now drawn five of their last seven matches; no other PL side has drawn more than two in the same timeframe.
After coming through a challenging start last week, Palace’s 11-game unbeaten run now faces another test against two more clubs who finished in the top seven last season, as Forest at home is followed by a trip to Aston Villa before the international break.
Astonishingly, Palace have a dismal record in their opening home match of the season in the Premier League, losing 12 of 16, and they have only managed one goal in the last nine years - against Southampton behind closed doors in 2020.
Forest are also unwelcome opponents for the Eagles, as Palace have never beaten them in 10 previous Premier League meetings, the most they have ever faced a side in the division without tasting victory.
It is also the longest unbeaten run Forest have enjoyed over another PL opponent, and across all competitions, they are unbeaten in eight trips to Selhurst Park, dating back to 2003.
A 1-1 draw between the sides in May here was actually a rather high-scoring affair for this fixture, because since Forest were promoted in 2022, their six encounters have produced just eight goals.
Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood celebrates scoring on August 17, 2025
Goals were not a problem for Nuno Espirito Santo’s men last weekend though, as they got off to the perfect start, beating Brentford 3-1 at the City Ground.
That result rubbished any pre-season doubts, where Forest won none of their seven friendlies, and drew five of them 0-0, and excitement continues to grow following intense activity in the transfer market.
Before a promising fixture against West Ham at home next week, Nuno’s men will look to pick up where they left off last season in terms of their superb form on the road, because only Liverpool and Arsenal won more points than Forest’s 33 in the Premier League last season, winning 10 of their 19 away matches.
That statistic is made to look even more remarkable when it is taken into consideration that in Forest’s previous two PL seasons, they only won a combined 24 points on the road in 38 games.
Crystal Palace Premier League form:
D
Crystal Palace form (all competitions):
D W
Nottingham Forest Premier League form:
W
Team News
Eberechi Eze of Crystal Palace during his team's clash against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, on May 11, 2025
Eze’s omission from Palace’s Conference League side on Thursday has all but confirmed his exit from the club, but Liverpool-linked Marc Guehi started once again in their back three.
Jefferson Lerma came in to replace Chris Richards at centre-back, while Borna Sosa was preferred to Tyrick Mitchell in the only personnel changes for the Eagles, but the same XI that started at Chelsea is expected here, barring the outgoing Eze.
On the injury front, Daichi Kamada is close to returning, but Eddie Nketiah, Chadi Riad, Cheick Doucoure and Matheus Franca are all sidelined at present.
After an opening day brace, Forest forward Chris Wood will hope to continue that form against opponents in which he has scored against in two of his last three appearances.
Three new signings could all be in the visitor’s squad here, as James McAtee, Omari Hutchinson and Arnaud Kalimuendo have all bolstered Nuno’s attack for the upcoming season.
Nicolas Dominguez is the only Forest absentee at present, as he will miss the next four months with a serious knee injury.
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Wharton, Hughes, Mitchell; Sarr, Mateta, Devenny
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Sels; Aina, Murillo, Milenkovic, Williams; Yates, Anderson; Ndoye, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood
SM words green background
We say: Crystal Palace 1-1 Nottingham Forest
All six meetings between the two in the Premier League since Forest were promoted in 2022 have ended level or been decided by a 1-0 scoreline, so another tight encounter is expected here.
Forest have strengthened greatly in the past week, while Palace have been weakened by the imminent departure of Eze, but the hosts are still strong in many areas, and will be competitive here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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