Given that his Aston Villa side have taken just one point from two Premier League outings this season, Unai Emery is unlikely to relish the sight of Oliver Glasner in the opposing dugout on Sunday.
The pair have met five times in the 18 months since Glasner arrived in English football, and only once has Emery outwitted his Crystal Palace counterpart.
Their recent fortunes have offered a study in contrasts. While Emery was left to bemoan Villa’s lack of intensity in a 1-0 loss at Brentford on Saturday, the only thing Glasner has lost this season is Eberechi Eze, the attacking midfielder who departed for Arsenal last week.
But while Palace have already won the Community Shield against LIverpool and successfully negotiated a Europa Conference League playoff against Fredrikstad, their domestic campaign has yielded just two points so far, with a goalless stalemate at Chelsea followed by a home draw against Nottingham Forest.
With points at a premium for both clubs, the final Premier League match before the international break is likely to hinge on whether Emery can find a way to break down the visitors’ obdurate defence while containing the attacking threat posed by Ismaïla Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta. The Palace duo have run rings around the Villa defence in recent years, Sarr scoring six goals and laying on a further three, while Mateta has five goals and four assists.
“They are very, very dangerous in transition,” said Emery, looking ahead to the game. “We have to stop the transition. We have to try to dominate, but being well organised always with the ball, even without the ball.”
The threat facing Villa is clear, but they are also unbeaten in their past 19 Premier League home games; a draw feels about right.
Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace team news
Emery will assess the fitness of midfielder Boubacar Kamara on Saturday, following his early injury at Brentford last week, while defender Ezri Konsa returns from a one-match suspension. The Villa manager was otherwise tight-lipped on the injury front.
“We have some players injured but I will want to train tomorrow and [see] how we can use the players in the squad for Sunday,” said Emery. “Until tomorrow, the last training session, I don’t want to say anything.”
Palace have no new injuries but midfielder Will Hughes, who missed the midweek trip to Norway, remains a doubt.
Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace predicted lineups
Aston Villa: Marco Bizot; Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, Lucas Digne; Boubacar Kamara, Amadou Onana; John McGinn, Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rogers; Ollie Watkins.
Crystal Palace: Dean Henderson; Chris Richards, Maxence Lacroix, Marc Guehi; Daniel Munoz, Adam Wharton, Jefferson Lerma, Tyrick Mitchell; Ismaila Sarr, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Justin Devenny.
