Crystal Palace v Wolverhampton Wanderers 06.10.2018 // 3pm
THE PLAYERS AND MANAGER BELIEVE THE NOISE YOU CREATE MAKES THEM PERFORM BETTER, SO WE MUST DO EVERYTHING IN OUR POWER TO HARNESS THAT FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE TEAM
THE CHAIRMAN 09
make today one to remember Welcome to the directors, players and staff of Wolves to south London today for the first time since New Years’ Day in 2013, and of course to all Palace supporters too.
I must begin by congratulating Wolves on their return to the Premier League, and their hugely impressive start. I have a lot of respect for the club, and they truly deserved to win the Championship last season, playing some magnificent football along the way. It looks as though they’ve invested well in their squad, and I have no doubt that today’s match will be hugely competitive. Since my last notes, we secured a point against Newcastle United when I felt we deserved all three, had a great win away at West Bromwich Albion to send us through to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, but then suffered away at Bournemouth to a late penalty which was bitterly disappointing for us all. That said, we sit in 13th position with seven points from seven games. If we go into next week’s international break with 10 from eight games and the makings of an exciting cup run on the horizon, that’s a result I think we’d all have taken at the start of the season had we been offered it. You will no doubt have seen the club’s statement on the creation of a dedicated ‘singing section’ in the Lower Holmesdale next season. This has been one of the most difficult decisions we have had to make in my time at the club and it certainly hasn’t been taken lightly. It’s a well-trodden football soundbite that fans are the twelfth man, but take it from me – our players and the manager really believe that the atmosphere you all create at Selhurst Park is something that makes this club truly special.
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Put simply, they believe the noise you create makes them perform better, so we must do everything in our power to harness that for the benefit of the team. We will work hard to thank the small number of affected supporters for their sacrifice, as well as trying to make their move as painless as possible. We know it’s an upheaval but hope they understand our reasoning. Speaking of the future, there are a couple of young players I’d like to congratulate. Firstly, our ManBetX Player of the Month for September Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and secondly Nya Kirby who has signed a new contract. Nya has made great progress in the academy and with England’s age groups, and hopefully will force his way into the first-team reckoning soon. We have arranged a friendly against Dulwich Hamlet this coming Thursday, and Roy will play a strong team on the night. I’d urge you all to come along and support a club whose treatment at the hands of property developers has been well documented. As a club, we feel it’s important to support other teams in our patch who need our help, and that’s why all the proceeds are going to Dulwich. It should be a great night. Finally, and most importantly, let’s all get behind Roy and his team today. Let’s make it one to remember. Up The Palace!
10 TODAY'S GAME
Crystal Palace v Wolves // Saturday 6th October // Selhurst Park
Today's game Palace face off against Wolves for the first time in the top tier since January 1981, still searching for their 100th Premier League win and their 200th in the top-flight after Monday’s late loss at Bournemouth. The Molineux club returned to this level by winning last season’s Championship title, and have taken to their new surroundings impressively by collecting 12 points from their opening seven games - the best start by a newly-promoted club for a decade. After failing to win any of their first three games this season, Wolves have now won three of their last four and only the current top three sides in the division are on a longer unbeaten run than Nuno Espirito Santo’s team’s five-match streak. Palace meanwhile are still searching for their first point and goal at Selhurst Park, but they might be buoyed by Wolves only winning two of their last 21 Premier League away games, though both of those came in London including a 1-0 win against West Ham United last month. It’s been nearly six years since the sides last met, which came on New Year’s Day 2013 as two Andre Moritz free-kicks and a Yannick Bolasie strike clinched a 3-1 win for Ian Holloway’s Eagles. Roy Hodgson will be hoping his team can end their home woes by securing a third straight win at Selhurst Park over Wolves for the first time ever.
Patrick van aanholt has been involved in eight Premier League goals in 2018 (6 goals, 2 assists), only Wilfried Zaha has more for Palace in that time (11).
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TODAY'S GAME 11
Previous encounters:
Head 2 head
One to watch:
All-time
Wilfried Zaha has been directly involved in three goals in two league games against Wolves, with both matches being played in the 2012/13 Championship.
18
0
20
0
25
0
Palace wins WOLVES wins draws
Form guide: Palace are unbeaten in their last four games against Wolves in all competitions, scoring at least twice in each of those games. Wolves have scored at least once in each of their last 13 league visits to Selhurst Park (excluding play-offs).
Last Time Out WOLVES 2-0 SOUTHAMPTON 11. Rui Patricio 5. Ryan Bennett 16. Conor Coady 15. Willy Boly 2. Matt Doherty 28. Joao Moutinho 8. Ruben Neves 19. Jonny
SUBS
10. Helder Costa
37. Adama Traore
18. Diego Jota
Raúl Jiménez
has been directly involved in 50% of Wolves’ eight Premier League goals so far this season (2 goals, 2 assists).
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7. Ivan Cavaleiro
9. Raul Jimenez
10
33. Leo Bonatini
2 5 28
9
8 18 19
16 15
11
Townsend Andros
After lighting up the Black Country with two netbusters against West Bromwich Albion last week, Andros Townsend is back amongst the goals and is hungry for more. Here he talks to Jonathon Rogers about his quest to add to his tally, and truly become Palace’s Starman.
44 OPPOSITION
Wolverhampton Wanderers WOLVES FOUNDED: 1877
CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS 2017/18
The manager After a nomadic playing career that saw him feature in goal infrequently for teams including Porto, Deportivo La Coruna and Dynamo Moscow, Nuno received his first managerial job at Rio Ave in 2012. He led them to qualification for the UEFA Europa League which prompted Valencia to hand him their top job, and after 18 months in Spain he returned to Porto. After a year there he quickly found a new home at Wolves, and guided them to the Championship title in his first season in England.
Club legend The centre-back spent his entire 20-year playing career at the heart of the Wolves defence, and his performances saw the club win all three of their league titles and an FA Cup during their golden period. Individual honours came in the form of the 1952 Football Writers’ Player of the Year and finishing runner-up in the voting for the 1957 Ballon d’Or, as well as 105 England caps including a record 90 coming as captain of the side. He is immortalised by a statue outside Molineux.
The stadium Molineux Capacity: 32,050 Opened: 1889 Record attendance: 61,315 Wolves v Liverpool First Division, 11th February 1939
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OPPOSITION 45
x3
x4
x2
x4
x4
LAST 5
Wolves 2-0 Southampton Premier League
Wolves 0-0 Leicester City (1-3p) Carabao Cup
Manchester United 1-1 Wolves Premier League
94
Karl Henry
96
Christophe Berra
108
Matt Jarvis
MOST PREMIER LEAGUE GAMES
108
Wolves 1-0 Burnley Premier League
PALACE
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WOLVES
15
Matt Jarvis
18
Kevin Doyle
22
Steven Fletcher
MOST PREMIER LEAGUE GOALS
22
West Ham United 0-1 Wolves Premier League
82 STATISTICS
Seasonal Statistics Top Goalscorer
Best Passing Accuracy
Wilfried Zaha
Mamadou Sakho
3
89%
Most Assists 01. Patrick van Aanholt
01
02. Aaron Wan-Bissaka
01
03. Max Meyer
01
Total Goals
49%
Shooting Accuracy
Overall Discipline
1
13
4
Hit Woodwork
5
29
Shots on Target
30
Shots off Target
PALACE
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STATISTICS 83
Pass Success Rate
Player In Focus
79%
Average Possession
47%
Most Interceptions
Most Passes
Luka Milivojevic
387 PALACE
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WOLVES
5
No Premier League goalkeeper has made more successful punches than Wayne Hennessey’s five this season, and only Allison and Ederson have kept more clean sheets than him.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka
14