Crystal Palacevs.TrabzonsporTrabzonspor

The Eagles played out a goalless draw with Botafogo on Saturday, while Trabzonspor were in action against Hull City on the same day, drawing 1-1 with the Championship club.

Match preview

Palace, as mentioned, were in action against Botafogo on Saturday, playing out a goalless draw in the mid-season friendly, with the Eagles preparing for the return of competitive action.

Patrick Vieira's side actually have three more friendlies in the diary, following this fixture with clashes against Napoli and Real Valladolid on December 11 and December 16 respectively.

Palace will then be back in competitive action against Fulham in the Premier League on Boxing Day, and they will be bidding to return to winning ways following the 1-0 loss at Nottingham Forest last time out.

The Eagles have won three of their last five in the league, though, which has left them in 11th position in the table, boasting 19 points from their opening 14 matches of the campaign.

Palace have finished 12th, 14th, 14th and 12th in their last four top-flight seasons, while they have not been in the top half since 2014-15, so Vieira could potentially oversee a strong campaign if the team can continue to put victories on the board upon their return to competitive action.

Trabzonspor, meanwhile, were last in competitive action against Ankaragucu on November 11, playing out a 1-1 draw in the league, with the result leaving them in seventh spot in the table.

Abdullah Avci's side are the reigning Turkish champions, and they are only six points behind leaders Fenerbahce in Turkey's top flight, so seventh spot is perhaps better than it sounds.

Trabzonspor were in friendly action against Hull on Saturday, playing out a 1-1 draw with the English side, and they now have two more non-competitive matches against Palace and Kasimpasa.

The team will then be in action in the Turkish Cup against Samsunspor on December 20 before the small matter of a home game against Fenerbahce in the league on December 24.

Trabzonspor have actually drawn each of their last three matches, with their last victory proving to be a 1-0 success over Ferencvaros in the Europa League at the start of November.

Crystal Palace friendlies form:

W

L

D

W

W

D

Crystal Palace form (all competitions):

L

W

W

L

L

D

Trabzonspor friendlies form:

W

D

L

L

D

Trabzonspor form (all competitions):

W

L

W

D

D

D

Team News

Palace have named Chris Richards, James McArthur and Nathan Ferguson in their travelling squad.

Vieira has already confirmed that Richards is set to be given minutes against Trabzonspor after recovering from a thigh injury, while McArthur and Ferguson will step up their injury recoveries in Turkey.

Wilfried Zaha should start for the Eagles, while Michael Olise, Marc Guehi and Tyrick Mitchell may also be among those to feature in the first XI for the Premier League side.

Trabzonspor head coach Avci will make full use of his squad in this match, as was the case in the draw with Hull last time out, where he made wholesale changes at the interval.

A strong starting XI is likely to take to the field, with Trezeguet potentially lining up on the left, while Bruno Peres, Vitor Hugo and Marek Hamsik should also be in the side.

Enis Bardhi and Jean-Philippe Gbamin are again set to feature off the bench in the second period, and Avci could again look to use 22 players, which was the case against Hull.

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:

Butland; Clyne, Guehi, Tomkins, Mitchell; Doucoure, Hughes, Schlupp; Zaha, Mateta, Olise

Trabzonspor possible starting lineup:

Cakir; Peres, Turkmen, Hugo, Bosluk; Siopis, Hamsik; Trezeguet, Omur, Unuvar; Bozok

We say: Crystal Palace 1-1 Trabzonspor

Neither manager will be too concerned about the result in this match, as the fixture is being used to prepare the players for the return of competitive action. We are expecting a close game on Wednesday, though, and it would not be a surprise to see a low-scoring draw take place.

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