Pierre Sage takes charge of his first Crystal Palace match on Saturday as Swindon Town come to Copers Cope for a friendly.
The Frenchman will be without most of his best players with many still on holiday after partaking in the World Cup, but there remains plenty of talent at Copers Cope in the likes of Matheus Franca and Romain Esse among others – both of whom have a point to prove this summer after regularly being snubbed by Oliver Glasner.
So, how could Sage set Crystal Palace up against Swindon Town? Let’s take a look.
Oscar Mingueza set to debut as door opens for Charlie Walker-Smith
Sage ended his time at RC Lens by playing a 3-4-3 formation in the Coupe de France final win over OGC Nice, a shape he often used while coaching in France.
Therefore, it is safe to assume the 47-year-old will deploy the same system against Swindon Town, where the likes of Esse are set to get a chance to start, in our opinion.
Any changes you would make to this predicted lineup? 🤔
Really hope Romain Esse impresses 🤞
As you can see above, we believe Remi Matthews will start in goal as Walter Benitez aims to leave Crystal Palace – we doubt the Argentine will want to play and risk an injury as he reportedly hopes for a move to OGC Nice.
With Maxence Lacroix, Chadi Riad and Chris Richards all on holiday after featuring in the World Cup, we expect Sage to lean on some of the academy products he called into his first training session, including the talented Mofe Jemide and Charlie Walker-Smith, who has been likened to Declan Rice by The Athletic.
We Are Palace believe they could feature alongside Jaydee Canvot, who has now taken the No.6 shirt Marc Guehi left behind.
Tyrick Mitchell and Adam Wharton should take up their usual spots at left wing-back and central midfield respectively.
With question marks still lingering over Cheick Doucoure’s fitness, we presume Will Hughes will get the nod in midfield, with new signing Mingueza featuring at right wing-back in the absence of Daniel Munoz.
The former Celta Vigo man can play anywhere in defence, but it has been widely reported that Crystal Palace plan to use the Spaniard down the right flank.
In attack, we expect a trio of players who desperately need to impress to start this match.
The aforementioned Franca and Esse could start on the left and right of attack respectively, supporting Eddie Nketiah in a lone role as Jean-Philippe Mateta and Jorgen Strand Larsen are on holiday.
However, given his £35m price tag, it is more likely that Brennan Johnson gets the nod to start on the left.
How can Brennan Johnson make a name for himself at Crystal Palace? 🏴
Nevertheless, Crystal Palace fans should still get to see the likes of Franca, Ozoh, Doucoure, Borna Sosa, Justin Devenny – who Southampton want – Rio Cardines and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi in the second half, considering managers often tend to replace most of the starting XI at the interval in these early friendlies.
