Defender Gary Cahill insists Crystal Palace will respect the quality of opposition on the horizon but have no reason to fear anyone. The Eagles went up against one of the top European sides on Saturday and, despite falling 2-0 to Manchester City, were by no means disgraced.
Pep Guardiola’s side were dominant in the first period but Palace fought back to create chances of their own in the second half, with Christian Benteke forcing a stunning save from Ederson.
The result means Roy Hodgson’s side are sixth in the table, with 14 points from nine games played, but things are hardly likely to get much easier in the coming weeks.
Next up is a trip to Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal on Sunday while in-form Leicester City arrive in south London on November 3.
Palace then face a trip to Chelsea before table-toppers Liverpool are the visitors on November 23.
It looks like a daunting sequence of games on paper but Cahill feels he and his team-mates are more than capable of ruffling a few feathers in the next few weeks. “In terms of going away from home, people expect it to be a difficult day for us,” he said. “But we played well against Manchester United and got a good result there. In the past Crystal Palace have upset quite a few big teams along the way, they have a reputation of doing that.”
Hodgson’s men have been tight at the back so far this term with just 10 league goals conceded but it is at the other end of the pitch that they need to improve.
Benteke has yet to find the back of the net and made just two starts and a return to goalscoring form the Belgian ace would certainly ease the pressure on the rearguard.
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