Fulham v Crystal Palace preview: pre-season friendly at Motspur Park on August 07

Fulham will face Crystal Palace at Motspur Park on August 07 in a behind-closed-doors pre-season friendly ahead of the 2026-27 campaign, with Crystal Palace entering as the UEFA Conference League champions.

Álvaro Arbeloa’s Fulham arrive for their fourth warm-up game after a 2-1 victory over SC Farense, a match decided by two penalties during normal time, while Palace have already played five pre-season fixtures, including a 5-1 win over Swindon Town and a 0-3 loss to Bromley; Fulham have not beaten Palace in their last four meetings.

Gonzalo Garcia, who left Real Madrid to join Fulham, is among the newcomers and could make his unofficial debut for the club; the Spanish forward can be deployed as a striker and is expected to play an important role in Fulham’s attacking plans under Arbeloa.

The 27-year-old will most likely start for Crystal Palace this time around; he was quite impactful for the Eagles during their last club friendly encounter.

Even though Edward Nketiah failed to score a goal in the previous fixture, he is expected to be a crucial asset for Palace in the final third.

Fulham are reported to have all of their selected stars fit and ready for the match. Adam Wharton is back in training for Crystal Palace and might come on as a substitute, while Jean Philippe-Mateta and Ismaila Sarr are yet to return.

Projected lineups: Leno (GK); Sessegnon, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Lukic, Iwobi, Palacios; King, G Garcia, Kevin Benitez (GK); Canvot, Richards, Sosa; Cardines, Hughes, Kamada, Mitchell; Devenny, Nketiah, Franca

Crystal Palace are favoured in the preview, with Fulham likely to use the game to try new signings and Palace still missing some established players; prediction: Fulham 1-2 Crystal Palace. The behind-closed-doors friendly is scheduled at Motspur Park on August 07 and will be available to watch via FFCtv.