I have to admit, I don’t know why but I have grown a bit of a soft spot for Crystal Palace over the last couple of years. I can’t quite work out why, whether it be some of the talent they have in their squad like Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise or the very popular HLTCO fanpage.
Either way, I was quite surprised when they chose to relieve Patrick Viera of his duties in March. Yes, I know they had failed to win in 12 but the football was there and the fixture list wasn’t too kind to them but that’s football for you.
The return of Roy Hodgson allowed them to push on winning half of his 10 games in charge helping Palace to a respectable 11th-placed finish.
The loss of their talisman Wilfred Zaha on a free to Galatasary could prove to be a big blow for the upcoming season with the previously mentioned Eze and Olise, I wouldn’t write them off.
Stadium: Selhurst Park.
Nickname(s): The Eagles, The Glaziers.
Founded: 1905
Manager: Roy Hodgson
Last Season: 11th
Top Scorer(s): Eberechi Eze (10)
Played for Villa and Crystal Palace
Christian Benteke
Aston Villa signed Christian Benteke from Genk in 2012 for a fee believed to be in the region of £7 million.
The big Belgian didn’t take long to settle in scoring on his debut in a 2-0 win over Swansea. He went on to score 19 Premier League goals in his opening season for Villa, exceeding Dwight Yorke’s record (18) for most goals scored in a Premier League season by a Villa player.
The following season he was plagued by injury which restricted him to just 11 goals but he was back to his best in the 2014-15 season scoring 15 times. His impressive form earned him a £32.5 million move to Liverpool where he scored 10 goals in his only season on Merseyside before joining Crystal Palace for a fee in the region of £32 million.
Benteke spent six seasons at Palace scoring 37 goals in 177 appearances before moving to the US with DC United.
Mile Jedinak
Crystal Palace signed Mile Jedinak from Turkish side Gençlerbirliği in 2011 where he became an instant fan favourite. The Australian spent five seasons at Palace and went on to make 165 appearances in the red and blue.
Jedinak impressed so much while at Selhurst Park that he was named fifth-best player in Europe, the best midfielder in Europe and the best player in the Premier League after the first three months of the 2014–15 season by the website Oulala Fantasy Football based on Opta performance statistics.
In 2016, the midfielder moved to Aston Villa and just as he was at Palace became an instant favourite with the supporters. He went on to make 70 appearances during three seasons at the club before hanging up his boots.
Following retirement he joined the Villa coaching staff, first with the Aston Villa academy and then in 2021 he became the club’s Loan Development coach. Jedinak left the club this summer to become the assistant manager at Tottenham Hotspur.
Head to Head
Aston Villa: 22
Crystal Palace: 14
Drawn: 15
Last Meeting: Aston Villa 1-0 Crystal Palace (4th March ’23).
2023/24 Fixtures: H – 16th September ’23, A – 19th May ’24.
Confirmed Transfers
IN: Jefferson Lerma (Free).
OUT: Wilfred Zaha (Free), Jack Butland (Free), Luka Milivojevic (Released), James McArthur (Released).
Transfer Rumours
IN: Matheus França from Flamengo (£8 million), Adrian Mazilu from FCV Farul Constanta (£1 million).
OUT: Michael Olise to Chelsea or Manchester City (£35 million).
Pre-Season
Crystal Palace kicked off their pre-season campaign and fell to a 1-0 defeat to Barnet at the Hive.
A 2-2 draw followed against Brøndby before a 0-4 win over Crawley. Three days later they beat London rivals Watford 2-1
As with a lot of Premier League sides, the Eagles then headed Stateside to first come up against Columbian side Millonarios but fell to a 1-2 defeat in Illinois. Sevilla followed yesterday in a game that ended 1-1. The Spanish side came out as winners through a penalty shootout.
Palace will finish their pre-season campaign against French side Lyon at Selhurst Park on August 5th.