Crystal Palace and Pierre Sage will be looking to get back to winning ways in the Premier League as Newcastle make the journey down to Selhurst Park on Sunday. 

The Toon have struggled at the start of the season, and under the management of Matthias Jaissle, they have seen similar teething issues to those that Palace have faced under Sage. 

Last time out, Newcastle lost against Aston Villa, suffering a 1-0 defeat at Villa Park, and have since had an entire week's worth of rest, a privilege that Palace simply cannot experience due to their European participation.

In terms of Premier League games at Selhurst Park, Newcastle haven’t won since the 2020/21 season. Palace’s record in this game at home is relatively strong. In the last five times they’ve hosted Newcastle, Palace have won twice, including a 2-1 win last season.

Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a brace that day, including a 94th minute winner from the penalty spot, and Mateta will be aiming to score in back to back games following his goal in Istanbul on Thursday. 

In all of the Premier League meetings between the two sides at Selhurst Park, it’s actually Newcastle who have the stronger record. In 15 meetings, they’ve won five, Palace winning four and the game ending level on six occasions.

Newcastle dominate the fixture overall too, and they’ve handed Palace some big defeats in games at St James’ Park, including a 5-0 hammering just two seasons ago, a game remembered for Eze missing his penalty with a stuttering run up. 

In all Premier League meetings between the two sides, Newcastle have won a whopping 14 of the thirty games, Palace winning seven. 

Newcastle have enjoyed a similarly slow start to the Premier League season, but sit slightly higher in the table, with one point more than Sage’s side. 

A win for Palace could put them as high as tenth, level on points with seventh but most likely behind due to the negative goal difference the side have accrued over the last seven games. 

Both sides will be desperate to come out on top, and whilst that could well happen for Palace, the extended rest that Newcastle have had will surely play a role. 

Palace will be hopeful that captain Dean Henderson can return to the starting eleven, whilst Jean-Philippe Mateta is expected to start the game in the wake of Jørgen Strand Larsen, who went off with an ankle injury shortly after entering the game in Istanbul after a challenge which resulted in a straight red card. 

Aside from that, Palace fans will have to wait for further updates on the likes of Ben Chilwell, whilst Takehiro Tomiyasu is going to be unavailable until the international break. 

There has been no confirmation of the extent of Strand Larsen’s injury, but due to the nature of the challenge and the way the Palace man limped off, it doesn’t look too good.

In some ways, this is a worry, but it's almost the best timing for it to happen with Mateta coming back and looking so strong.