Crystal Palace begin their Como Cup campaign with two 45-minute matches against RC Lens and FC Famalicão on Tuesday evening.
This Crystal Palace Como Cup preview includes the latest squad news, possible lineups, kick-off times and live-stream information.
Pierre Sage’s side face Lens at 6pm BST before meeting Famalicão at 7.30pm BST. Both Group A fixtures will take place at the Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium and will be shown live on Palace TV+.
The unusual format allows Sage to select almost two separate teams. Palace must finish above Lens and Famalicão to qualify for Saturday’s final against the winner of Group B, which contains Como, Villarreal and AlUla. The second and third-placed teams will contest classification matches on Friday.
Crystal Palace Como Cup preview and team news
Palace have taken a 26-player squad to Italy, including Walter Benítez, Chris Richards, Tyrick Mitchell, Daichi Kamada, Ismaïla Sarr and Eddie Nketiah.
Cheick Doucouré is also available as he continues rebuilding his fitness following a lengthy injury absence. Nketiah and Doucouré both completed another 45 minutes during Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Bromley.
Several academy players have travelled, including Rio Cardines, Mofe Jemide, George King, Charlie Walker-Smith and Dean Benamar. Joél Drakes-Thomas also retains his place after adding urgency and direct running from the bench at Hayes Lane.
Danny Imray has not made the trip as the right-back closes in on a permanent transfer to Wrexham. ReadCrystalPalace reported that the proposed agreement could be worth around £5million.
Sage will expect a response after Palace conceded three second-half goals against Bromley. The Eagles created several clear openings but failed to convert them, with Nketiah hitting the crossbar and Drakes-Thomas missing from close range.
The ReadCrystalPalace player ratings from the Bromley defeat identified Nketiah, David Ozoh and Matheus França as the strongest performers. França should again receive opportunities centrally after scoring a hat-trick against Swindon earlier in pre-season.
Sage faces immediate RC Lens reunion
The opening match carries additional significance for Palace’s new manager.
Sage joined the Eagles after guiding Lens to second place in Ligue 1 and their first Coupe de France triumph. Dino Toppmöller has since replaced him, inheriting a squad preparing for Champions League football.
Lens drew 2-2 with Royal Charleroi in their latest friendly and can call upon experienced attackers Florian Thauvin and Thorgan Hazard. They should provide Palace’s defenders with their most demanding pre-season test so far.
Famalicão offer a different challenge. The Portuguese side have remained unbeaten during pre-season and recorded five consecutive clean sheets.
The existing Famalicão vs Crystal Palace preview examines Carlos Carvalhal’s main threats, including Gustavo Sá, Gil Dias, Sorriso and Umar Abubakar.
With only 45 minutes available in each match, Palace cannot afford a slow start. Sage will want greater composure during the build-up and quicker decisions around the penalty area.
Predicted Crystal Palace XIs and scores
Possible Palace XI vs RC Lens, 3-4-2-1:
Walter Benítez; Chris Richards, Jaydee Canvot, Tyrick Mitchell; Rio Cardines, Will Hughes, Cheick Doucouré, Borna Sosa; Daichi Kamada, Ismaïla Sarr; Eddie Nketiah.
Possible Palace XI vs Famalicão, 3-4-2-1:
Joe Whitworth; George King, Mofe Jemide, Charlie Walker-Smith; Dean Benamar, David Ozoh, Justin Devenny, Tayo Adaramola; Romain Esse, Matheus França; Joél Drakes-Thomas.
Sage may redistribute several players between the matches, particularly if he wants to manage Doucouré and Nketiah carefully.
Lens possess the greater experience and should provide a difficult opening contest. Palace’s fresher second lineup could then have enough attacking quality to overcome Famalicão.
Prediction: Crystal Palace 1-1 RC Lens
Prediction: Famalicão 0-1 Crystal Palace
