Crystal Palace will look to respond when they visit Leeds United on Sunday, with Pierre Sage’s side facing a difficult test against opponents who have made an unbeaten start to the Premier League season.
Palace’s league campaign took another setback last Saturday as a late defeat by Ipswich left them with three losses from their opening four matches. Their defensive difficulties were again exposed, with Axel Disasi’s red card in the 34th minute making the task harder.
The Eagles have now conceded at least twice in each of their past 10 top-flight matches, a run bettered only by Fulham’s record of 13 consecutive Premier League games between January and April 2019. Palace have also allowed the most goals in the division so far, with 11 conceded, while their opponents have registered the highest combined expected-goals figure against them at 8.15. They are joint-top for shots on target faced, with 26, and have allowed the most touches inside their own penalty area, at 164.
The loss of Marc Guehi, Maxence Lacroix and Daniel Munoz across the January and summer transfer windows has been felt in defence, while injuries have added to Sage’s problems. Goalkeeper and captain Dean Henderson is again unavailable for the meeting with Leeds. Highly rated defender Jaydee Canvot was also left out against Ipswich, with Sage explaining: “I need more from him.”
Palace do at least head into the match with renewed confidence from Europe. Last season’s Conference League winners began their Europa League campaign on Thursday with a 4-0 victory over Lech Poznan, providing a morale boost before the trip to Elland Road.
Leeds, meanwhile, have lost just once in their past 13 league matches and sit third after collecting eight points from four games. Dominic Calvert-Lewin has scored in five successive Premier League appearances at Elland Road, and Palace will need to contain a forward who has already scored 10 league goals at home for Leeds since joining the club at the start of last season.
