Crystal Palace will play bitter rivals Brighton and Hove Albion on the south coast.

In the Premier League, the two teams are separated by five points, and an Eagles victory might make an otherwise boring season intriguing.

After a very successful transfer window, Palace added Adam Wharton and Daniel Munoz, who will both be looking to play for the first time for the team against Brighton.

Many fans who don’t support one of the two clubs find it difficult to understand the animosity between them. The rivalry began in the middle of the 1970s, when Terry Venarables was the Palace manager and Alan Mullery was the Brighton manager.

In an effort to move out of the third tier, the clubs faced off four times during the 1976–1977 season. Trouble was there in all four sessions to a considerable degree.

But when Alan Mullery told Terry Venables, “Your team’s not worth that,” and tossed five pounds on the ground following the game, things became quite heated during the FA Cup First Round Replay. The clubs have had a fierce rivalry ever since that day.

The clubs have produced numerous amazing games throughout the years, most famously a thrilling play-off semifinal in 2013.

The competition remains as heated and acrimonious as it did forty-seven years ago. With Brighton barely outside of the European spots and Palace mired in a relegation struggle, the bragging rights are extremely important to both teams.

The Eagles would be only two points behind Brighton and nine points clear of the drop zone with a victory.

The rivalry

Hodgson clarified that the more experienced players in the team are aware of the rivalry between the clubs, but he also made it clear that some of the younger and more recent players were not.

“The elder ones really relate to the competition. Like everything else, it is. You can explain these topics to new players when you welcome them into the club. We inform kids about the rivalry, and the supporters do as well.”

The seasoned manager approaches the match with true gentlemanly demeanor, discussing the football instead of the rivalry. Hodgson acknowledges Brighton’s quality as a football team and acknowledges that they will present a formidable challenge to his Crystal Palace team.

“What we do know is that it’s going to be a tough game because Brighton are a good side.”

“It gets even more exciting with the rivalry akin to a derby. However, you always know you’re going to be up against a tough opponent when you play Brighton, especially when they’re playing away from home, because they’re not eighth in the table for nothing. That kick may or may not be there. Because they play well, they are present.

Injury News

Tuesday night’s match against Crystal Palace required the team to play the final 13 minutes without its two main players, Michael Olise and Ebenerechi Eze, who were both substituted off due to injuries. Hodgson gave a status report on their accessibility.

Eze reported experiencing tightness in his hamstring. As a result, he is scheduled for a scan, and I guess I will have to wait and see the outcome.

“As for Michael, I’m assuming and praying he’ll be alright because the reason he came off was partially preventive. It was our understanding that he would notify us if he became fatigued and, should it worsen, to “don’t push it if you’re feeling that maybe there’s a risk that something will happen.”

Joel Ward, the captain of the Eagles, has been out for a while due to a thigh injury. The seasoned defender is getting closer to making a comeback, according to Hodgson.

Ward is “coming on well; at this point, he is approaching.” This weekend, he is cleared.”

“To get to the point where they believe it is safe for him to join in with the team, he has been training on his own or with the sports science and medical people who have been conducting a program.”

“That will take place on Monday as he has this weekend off.”

Is the best yet to come?

Palace has been going through a relegation struggle that they never anticipated. The Palace manager did admit, though, that he has never questioned the caliber of his team.

Even without the help of these two arrivals, I believed we had enough players in this squad to win it. However, getting Michael and Ebs back on the pitch together has been our main priority.”

At Crystal Palace, there is an obvious winning formula: when Eze and Olise are on the field together, they win games. Sadly for Hodgson, the Palace manager hasn’t been able to accomplish that too often this season, and Saturday might be another one of those rare occasions.

“It was great to see those two back on the field together the other night. Only 17% of the games we’ve played this season have had them on the field together, which is a statistic that I sort of half felt in my head this morning but didn’t actually have.”

Hodgson might be able to duplicate the play at the conclusion of the previous season, when Palace played some amazing football, if they can keep Eze and Olise healthy in addition to the new players joining the team.

“I’ve always thought that the team will advance and gain from that. Two additional players of the caliber we have added will increase our chances of getting out of this relegation group.