Crystal Palacevs.Lyon

Roy Hodgson's side ended their United States tour with a 1-1 draw against Sevilla last time out, while Lyon put eight past Swiss outfit Sion in an 8-2 obliteration.

Match preview

As has been the case with several pre-season friendlies this summer, Palace's showdown with Sevilla in Detroit - which saw Eberechi Eze cancel out an Ivan Rakitic opener - was followed by a penalty shootout, and a highly unconventional one at that.

Instead of the customary five spot kicks each, the shootout was played by sudden death rules from the start, and Sevilla therefore needed just one successful penalty to prevail as Joachim Andersen crashed the Eagles' opening effort against the crossbar.

Roy Hodgson will certainly not be losing any sleep over Andersen's 12-yard miss, though, as holding the serial Europa League winners to a score draw was an impressive feat from Palace, even if they could not capitalise on a late red card for Nemanja Gudelj.

Already pitting their wits against six different opponents this summer, Palace have only managed to glean two friendly successes so far - thumping Crawley Town 4-0 before a 2-1 triumph over London rivals Watford - but Hodgson was "very pleased indeed" with his side's exploits in Detroit.

Following Saturday's final friendly contest, Palace will hope to offer Sheffield United a harsh Premier League homecoming when they face the Blades in their gameweek one fixture on August 12, before closing the month with back-to-back London derbies against Arsenal and Brentford.

Similarly, Lyon have also found consistency hard to come by during their warm-up period, opening with a 2-1 win over Dutch amateur outfit De Treffers before a trio of consecutive 1-0 losses against Manchester United, Molenbeek and Celta Vigo.

However, a return to home comforts was the perfect tonic for Laurent Blanc's side, who welcomed Sion to their training base for a behind-closed-doors encounter on Wednesday and ran out 8-2 winners in a scintillating showing.

The Gones boss will undoubtedly be far from satisfied with his side's warm-up results, though, as Lyon aim to improve on a dissatisfactory seventh-placed finish in the 2022-23 Ligue 1 season, although they did reach the semi-finals of the Coupe de France before falling short against Nantes.

Blanc has overseen a mass summer clearout at the Groupama Stadium, waving goodbye to all of Houssem Aouar, Jerome Boateng, Moussa Dembele, Thiago Mendes, Malo Gusto and Romain Faivre, but their backline has been reinforced by the loan arrival of Southampton's Duje Caleta-Car.

Crystal Palace friendly form:

L

D

W

W

L

L

Lyon friendly form:

Team News

Palace were forced to cope without the duo of Tyrick Mitchell and Will Hughes against Sevilla after both men sustained injuries in a 2-1 loss to Colombian side Millonarios on July 26, and Hodgson has admitted that the former may have picked up a "dangerous" thigh injury.

Meanwhile, Hughes came off with an apparent knee problem after falling victim to a crunching challenge from a Millonarios player, although Palace fans are still in the dark as to how long the midfielder might be sidelined for.

The pair are joined in the infirmary by Michael Olise, who is unlikely to be back from thigh surgery for at least another six weeks, and Hodgson could therefore stick with the same XI players who came through the full 90 minutes against Sevilla, as Andersen lines up against his old club.

Meanwhile, Lyon could potentially hand an unofficial debut to Caleta-Car - whose arrival was confirmed on Wednesday - while midfielder Skelly Alvero and right-back Clinton Mata represent two more summer acquisitions.

Top clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool are believed to be keeping a close eye on talented winger Bradley Barcola, who could feature from the off at Selhurst Park, while 19-year-old protege Rayan Cherki is similarly being tipped for a big future.

Chelsea were supposedly monitoring Cherki's development, although it has now been alleged that the Blues have withdrawn their interest due to attitude concerns.

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:

Johnstone; Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Clyne; Schlupp, Doucoure, Lerma; Eze, Edouard, Ayew

Lyon possible starting lineup:

Lopes; Mata, Kumbedi, Diomande, Tagliafico; Lepenant, Tolisso, Caqueret; Cherki, Lacazette, Barcola

We say: Crystal Palace 1-1 Lyon

Fresh from an admirable showing against the Europa League winners, Palace can give an inconsistent Lyon side a good run for their money at Selhurst Park, where the visitors' defensive woes look set to continue.

However, an attack comprising Barcola, Cherki and the rejuvenated Alexandre Lacazette could be hard to keep quiet, and Blanc's side can strike back to force a score draw in the capital.

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