Jean-Philippe Mateta will not feature for Crystal Palace amid intense transfer speculation
Palace arrive winless in eight Premier League matches and sit 15th, just three points above Forest
Forest enter the fixture in improved form and are backed to win, with Igor Jesus in focus
Jean-Philippe Mateta will not be involved when Crystal Palace visit Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Sunday, with Oliver Glasner admitting there is every chance the Frenchman leaves before Monday's transfer deadline.
Mateta has reportedly asked to leave Selhurst Park and has attracted interest from AC Milan, Juventus and Forest – who Palace face at the City Ground in their next match.
The Frenchman has scored eight goals in 23 Premier League outings this season, though he has underperformed his expected goals (xG) figure of 12.0 and has not scored since a 1-1 draw with Fulham on New Year's Day, with Palace going eight league games without a win.
At Friday's pre-match press conference, Glasner – who has already announced he will leave Palace at the end of the season – said it was best that Mateta sits out the game.
"There is so much noise, so much speculation, so many things going on. We need every single player at their best, and JP isn't at his best right now," Glasner said.
"It might be football noise, but if someone has private issues where they can't focus on football, then it makes no sense to play. He can't help the team and perform at his top level. We decided it is better not to play him."
Palace have been linked with a £50m move for Wolves frontman Jorgen Strand Larsen, who will be involved for his club this weekend, at home to Bournemouth on Saturday.
And Glasner says all options are still on the table, adding: "To be clear, it could be that JP stays, and he is a Palace player on February 2.
"Or, it could be that JP has left the club, and a new striker is in. These are the two situations we are talking about and discussing right now."
But Glasner has no concerns about Mateta's attitude if he is denied a move, saying: "I know when JP stays, he will be highly motivated because he has a big dream to play for France at the World Cup.
"Therefore, he needs to perform, and he needs to play better than he has played in the last few weeks. That is what he knows."
Palace's terrible run of form has seen them slip all the way to 15th in the table, and they are now just three points clear of Forest, who are five points above the relegation zone.
And boss Sean Dyche expects them to also be active in the closing stages of the window, saying: "The owner has made it clear he will support the club.
"But they are a trading club – I saw that from the outside, and everyone knows that. It depends what's available.
"People could possibly go out, but more likely, we are looking for people to come in."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Nottingham Forest – Igor Jesus
Jesus scored twice against Ferencvaros in the Europa League on Thursday, in a 4-0 win, and he will be desperate to carry his strong European form onto the domestic front.
The Brazilian is just the second player in Forest's history to net five or more goals in a major European campaign (now on six), after Gary Birtles struck six times in 1978-79, when they lifted the European Cup.
Crystal Palace – Yeremy Pino
In the Premier League this season, no Crystal Palace player can match Pino for chances created (32), chances created from open play (24), dribbles (35) or passes into the opposition penalty area (97).
He also ranks second in their squad, behind Mateta in both instances, for shots (34) and touches in the opposition box (66).
MATCH PREDICTION – NOTTINGHAM FOREST WIN
Only twice in his career has Palace manager Glasner endured a longer winless league run than his current streak of eight.
He went 11 games without winning between March and August 2022 and 10 without a victory between February and May 2023, both times with Eintracht Frankfurt.
Perhaps his team have been unfortunate at times, as Palace rank seventh for xG in open play in the Premier League this season (22.8) but have scored the second-fewest open-play goals (10).
That means they comfortably have the worst open-play xG difference in the league (-12.8) and the worst by any team in a single season since Everton in 2023-24 (-16).
Since MD16, Palace have won the fewest points (two), scored the fewest goals (four), lost the most games (six) and have the worst goal difference (-12) in the Premier League.
Forest, meanwhile, have won seven points from their last three Premier League matches (W2 D1), more than in their previous eight combined (six – W2 L6), and they are unbeaten in their last six top-flight home games against Palace.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Nottingham Forest – 45%
Crystal Palace – 28.1%
Draw – 26.9%
