LIVE Crystal Palace vs Leeds United Football Match Score 22 July 2022
Premier League duo Crystal Palace and Leeds United will do battle in Australia in a pre-season friendly at the Optus Stadium on Friday. Both teams will be looking to bounce back from friendly defeats against top-flight opposition last time out, with Palace losing to Manchester United while Leeds were beaten by Aston Villa. Crystal Palace head coach Patrick Vieira will be looking to build on a positive first season at Selhurst Park which saw the Eagles finish 12th in the Premier League and reach the FA Cup semi-finals.
The Frenchman made a number of shrewd acquisitions to bolster his squad last summer, and he has delved into the transfer market once again ahead of the 2022-23 campaign, recruiting Cheick Doucoure, Sam Johnstone and Malcolm Ebiowei. Vieira has had to cope with a somewhat fragmented pre-season so far this summer, with only 10 senior players travelling on the club’s pre-season tour of Australia. Several youth players were handed minutes in their most recent friendly Down Under against Man United, with the Red Devils winning 3-1 in Melbourne.
The likes of Doucoure, Wilfried Zaha, Marc Guehi, Eberechi Eze, Jeffrey Schlupp and Christian Benteke, meanwhile, have all remained in England, with some failing to meet Australia’s entry requirements while others were deemed to have had fitness issues. All of these players took part in Palace’s 3-2 friendly win over Gillingham on Tuesday, with Zaha (2) and Benteke on the scoresheet. Palace, who have failed to win each of their last three competitive fixtures against Leeds, will return home after their game with the Whites for encounters with Queens Park Rangers and Montpellier, before facing Arsenal in their Premier League opener on August 5.
Last term, only one goal was seen in the two clashes between Crystal Palace and Leeds, but since both teams looking to sharpen their attacks ahead of the start of the new season, an exciting encounter is expected. Crystal Palace has been extremely efficient in pre-season so far, as their six friendlies have seen an average of 4.6 goals per game and we expect that trend to continue on Friday. In fact, The Eagles conceded as many as 4 goals against Millwall, and to make matters worse, they allowed Ipswich (League One) and Gillingham (League Two) to score two goals each against them. Meanwhile, Leeds United showed a poor attack in their last warm-up match against Aston Villa, but it should be noted that The Whites have found the net in four of their previous five away games. Despite Leeds United selling their two most important players this summer, they should certainly take advantage of Crystal Palace’s lack of defensive consistency and find the net, but not avoid defeat.
Most of Crystal Palace’s players had visa problems before the tour in Australia, so the coach was forced to start with a lot of Academy players, where they suffered a convincing 1-3 defeat against Manchester United. Soon, The Eagles were back on the winning track as they secured a narrow 3-2 triumph over League Two Gillingham on the same day thanks to two goals from Wilfried Zaha. On the other hand, Leeds United have played three friendlies this summer, beating Blackpool (4-0) and Brisbane Roar (2-1), while suffering a minimal 0-1 defeat to their Premier League counterparts – Aston Villa, last time. Leeds’ survival hung in the balance last term and The Whites were forced to triumph over Brentford on the final day of the campaign to keep their Premier League status.
After avoiding relegation from the Premier League on the final day of last season, Jesse Marsch has since overseen a busy summer transfer window at Elland Road. Supporters will understandably be disappointed to have seen both Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha leave the club, but the West Yorkshire outfit have responded by recruiting seven new signings, with Brenden Aaronson, Rasmus Kristensen, Marc Roca, Tyler Adams, Luis Sinisterra, Darko Gyabi and Sonny Perkins all arriving on permanent deals.
Marsch, who is preparing for his first full season at the helm, saw his side begin pre-season with a comfortable 4-0 win over Blackpool, before beating Brisbane Roar 2-1 Down Under last week. Their most recent friendly, however, ended in defeat as they suffered a slender 1-0 loss to Aston Villa in Queensland on Sunday.
Leeds, who have only lost two of their last 12 meetings against Crystal Palace, will face the Eagles in their final match in Australia, before taking on Italian outfit Cagliari on home soil at the end of the month. Marsch will then have six days to prepare his side for their Premier League opener at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Leeds United round off their pre-season tour of Australia against Crystal Palace on Friday. The Whites have played two games Down Under so far, beating Brisbane Roar 2-1 in Queensland, before losing 1-0 to Premier League rivals Aston Villa on Sunday.
A game against Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace completes the tour – with the London side missing at least eight first-team players for the clash. The likes of Wilfried Zaha, Marc Guehi and Eberechi Eze were not included in the squad for the tour.
Another game against Premier League opposition will serve Jesse Marsch’s side well, with the Whites set to face Wolverhampton Wanderers on August 6 to kick off their Premier League campaign.
Leeds United will play their final match on their tour of Australia this Friday, taking on fellow Premier League side Crystal Palace at the Optus Stadium in Perth. The match gets underway locally at 18:05 (AWST), which in the UK is 11:05 (BST).
The Whites have played twice Down Under so far this pre-season, and three times overall. A 4-0 win over Blackpool in York kicked the friendly matches off before going away and two matches so far in Australia were productive, seeing a win over Brisbane Roar and a narrow defeat to Aston Villa as the team built up their fitness for the new season.
Playing abroad twice already themselves, Palace have lost both matches from their pre-season tour up to now. The Eagles lost 2-0 against Liverpool in Singapore, before then being defeated 3-1 against Manchester United on Melbourne. A number of the first team squad are not on the trip, with Covid disruptions prior to the departure of the squad.
Patrick Vieira is going into his second campaign in charge at Selhurst Park and the manager will be looking to get further minutes into his players before their Premier League season starts at home to Arsenal.
Palace finished a more than respectable 12th in the Premier League last season, winning 11, drawing 15 and losing 12 of their 38 matches. The Eagles impressed many along the way and oversaw plenty of change at the club, with Vieira taking over at the top and a number of players transitioning into the team.
Recent England debutant Tyrick Mitchell is a key player for Friday’s opposition, with an important part to play not only defensively, but also offensively. The 22-year-old full-back races up and down the left-hand-side of the pitch, often denying opposition attacks but also starting them for his own team.
Last season, the Whites claimed four points against Palace from the two matches played. A 1-0 win at Elland Road courtesy of a 90th minute penalty was followed up with another clean sheet and ultimately an important point in the battle for safety, with a 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park.
