A frantic, action-packed August had seen Palace not only secure two of their early-season objectives – the FA Community Shield trophy, and qualification for a major European competition – but also three clean sheets in five unbeaten matches, prior to the trip to Villa Park. The Eagles were bolstered by the inclusion of attacker Yeremy Pino in the matchday squad for the first time, having completed his move from Villarreal on Friday. There were two changes to Palace’s starting XI, with Tyrick Mitchell and Will Hughes replacing Borna Sosa and Jefferson Lerma from Thursday’s resolute draw in Norway. Much to Palace’s credit, however, despite their remarkably busy calendar, they grew into the half – and indeed proved the more dangerous outlet in the first-half. Villa’s Matty Cash survived an early VAR check for a potentially high challenge on Daichi Kamada.