Crystal Palace take on Ipswich as they attempt to continue their winning run following their 3-0 victory in midweek over Middlesbrough. Pierre Sage’s side will host the Tractor Boys at Selhurst Park, as Ipswich continue to search for their first points since the opening day win over Sunderland. 

Gary O’Neils’ side come into the game with far more rest than Palace, having not yet played their Carabao Cup third round tie against Arsenal and therefore last playing in their 2-0 loss to Liverpool over a week ago by the time this game is played. 

Palace will only have three days of rest, but after rotating heavily in midweek, there should be little physical impact by the time Saturday comes around. 

Ahead of the game, we spoke to the team at Ipswich Town podcast Talking Town to find out what Palace fans can expect ahead of the game. 

We asked Talking Town about Ipswich’s performances in the league so far, having lost back to back games to Manchester United and Liverpool ahead of this fixture, and whether those results were justified within the performances. 

“Yes and no, with the arrow closer to no. Both games told different stories. Against Manchester Utd for the first 40 minutes we were absolutely excellent. We thoroughly deserved to be a goal up and in all reality should have probably been two. However, as we know from the last time we were here and are quickly finding out again this time around, if you give sides a chance at the elite level to hurt you, they'll hurt you. A slip meant both sides went in 1-1, then the now famous handball …or rather, it wasn't handball (the VAR situation that saw Utd go 2-1). From that point they simply went through the gears and we never regained composure.”

Against Liverpool, it was more a case of a slow start which Town never recovered from. 

“Against Liverpool, however, we were simply blown away inside 10 minutes and then kept at arm's length by an elite side.”

It’s always interesting to know where Palace can likely target the opposition, and how they can look to hurt them. 

“The right hand side is becoming a sore point with some of the fanbase, as currently we have Dara O’Shea, a natural centre back, playing at right back, which has caused some concern early doors.”

The general trend when speaking to Town fans is that the defence hasn’t strengthened much despite a busy transfer window. 

“Overall however, for all the money spent, Issa Diop is the only addition to a backline that the last time we were at this level, conceded a lot of goals.’

There are a number of exciting attacking players that Palace will need to control, and one of them is former Brighton and Strasbourg man Julio Enciso. 

“Everything begins and ends with Julio. He’s a magician, capable of winning the game on his own. We also have a player in midfield, Palacios, who’s won almost everything there is to win in football. However, it has to be said that we’re also still learning our squad as fans, just as opposition fans are, with such a drastic overhaul in the summer.”

Palace also have plenty of strength in their new look squad, and we were curious to find out which players the opposition fans were most fearful of. 

“As Palace have got a few players that would look excellent in Ipswich blue, I’m going to go for the obvious and say I’m really intrigued to see how we handle Adam Wharton in midfield. I really like him as a player, and if we allow him to play, I think we’ll be in for a long afternoon.”

Finally, we asked what Town’s aims were for the season, and how likely they were to accomplish those. 

“17th. It’s as simple as that. Staying in the division this year is everything. If you offered me 17th now, I’d take it.”

Last time Town were in the Premier League, Palace beat them both home and away, and will be hoping to do the same and make it three wins on the bounce to continue the momentum ahead of the international break.