Preview

 

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Pre-Season Friendlies clash between Ipswich Town and Crystal Palace, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Crystal Palace continue their pre-season preparations with a trip to face Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Saturday afternoon.

While Palace recorded a hard-fought win at Walsall last weekend, Ipswich are yet to take on professional opponents in front of a crowd this summer.

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Match preview

Having already added Marc Guehi and Michael Olise to his Crystal Palace squad, Patrick Vieira has already created a feeling of optimism among the Eagles fanbase.

The Premier League outfit are expected to conduct more shrewd business as the summer progresses with Vieira being instructed to focus on younger players.

However, the Frenchman must also keep things ticking over on the pitch during pre-season, and the Arsenal legend would have been satisfied with his team's 1-0 victory at Walsall.

While Wilfried Zaha's first-half goal proved to be the difference between the two teams, the main positive was a youthful XI holding on for the win after the break.

The Palace hierarchy have called for more members of the academy squad to be provided with a pathway into the first team, and the fixture at the Bank's Stadium represented an ideal opportunity for Vieira to assess the club's prospects.

Ipswich had been hoping to head into this fixture on the back of a meeting with Stevenage, their fourth scheduled fixture of the summer

However, the contest with the League Two outfit was called off due to coronavirus-related reasons, leaving the Tractor Boys with just three more games ahead of the new League One season.

Having only succumbed 2-1 to Fulham in a friendly last weekend, Paul Cook will not necessarily be too concerned about the blip in his plans.

Extra rest away from the stifling conditions of the past week may prove to be a blessing in disguise, but Cook will demand that his players take full advantage as crowds return to their home ground.

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Team News

Having spent the week training with his new teammates, Guehi should feature at some stage on Saturday.

Vieira may stick with the group of players which started against Walsall before introducing the former Chelsea man after the break.

Should Vieira adopt that approach, it would mean another outing for 19-year-old Robert Street ahead of Jean-Philippe Mateta.

Few details were revealed about Ipswich's behind-closed-doors friendly against Fulham, making it difficult to predict a lineup for this game.

Nevertheless, new signings Vaclav Hladky, Lee Evans and Rekeem Harper will be among a number of fresh faces who are handed minutes at the weekend.

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Head To Head

Ipswich and Palace have been regular foes over the years with the two teams having squared off on 83 occasions.

However, in their one meeting in eight years, Palace emerged victorious by a 2-1 scoreline in the second round of the EFL Cup in 2017.

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We say: Ipswich Town 0-2 Crystal Palace

Both teams will be looking to up their level in this contest, something which should lead to an entertaining contest. While Palace's squad is still short of senior experience, we expect the Eagles to battle their way to victory in East Anglia.

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