Crystal Palace have finally had some time on the grass to prepare ahead of their upcoming Europa League game with German side TSG Hoffenheim. Three training sessions were much needed after a difficult month in October, where not only did Palace struggle for form, but they have travelled an incredible number of miles in such a short amount of time. 

Finally though, Palace have consecutive home games, and after playing and losing in London on Saturday, there will be a sense of ambition from the side and manager to find a positive result in this game. 

Here’s all the latest ahead of tonight’s game.

In his pre-match presser, Sage gave a huge update regarding both Jørgen Strand Larsen and Quinten Timber. Strand Larsen hasn’t featured since he limped off in Istanbul, with many initially worrying that he could be facing a long spell on the sidelines, however he is fit to feature and has trained all week. 

For Timber, there wasn’t much in terms of reasoning for his absence in recent weeks. His last outing was in the 5-0 defeat to Brighton, but he is also fit to feature in this game too. 

Dean Henderson will also likely start as he continues his push to return to full fitness.

There will also be the added benefit that the bulk of the squad can come into this game off the back of four days of ‘rest’. No away travel means that the last few days have been very simple in terms of training, and Palace will likely have enjoyed that relief after back to back trips away for this competition. 

Ismaïla Sarr, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Chadi Riad remain out injured. 

The German side currently occupy 12th place in the Bundesliga, and in all honesty, have had a strange season in terms of results. They come into this game off the back of consecutive defeats, including a 2-0 loss in the league at Werder Bremen which followed a penalty shootout loss against Kiel. 

Other standout results include them beating Bayer Leverkusen 3-0, as well as a big Europa League win over Lyon, beating the French side that Palace lost to by three goals to nil. 

Christian Ilzer’s side come into this match with somewhat of an injury crisis, which could be of huge benefit to Palace. 

As of right now, they have eight players out of action, including key forward Adam Hložek, defensive gem Nathan De Cat amongst a long list of absentees. 

Palace will be hopeful that they can show their quality and record what could be a huge win and confidence boost going forward. 

The game will kick off 17:45 this evening, is live on domestic television and the referee is Horatiu Fesnic, who averages 5 yellow cards a game.