Crystal Palace will host Champions League hopefuls Nottingham Forest at Selhurst Park on Monday evening.

While the Eagles appear destined for a mid-table finish, they are also set to contest the FA Cup final later in May. This leaves manager Oliver Glasner with the challenge of maintaining league focus ahead of the Wembley showpiece.

Addressing this balancing act, Glasner commented:

“Honestly, I’ve already forgotten! It’s gone. It was a fantastic experience, a great day and a brilliant feeling. Of course, everyone is in good spirits now with the lovely weather, and we always say: the more you win, the better life feels—especially with performances like that. But there’s no point dwelling on the semi-final now. The priority is focusing on the Nottingham Forest game, because we want to win at home.

“Of course, I watched their semi-final against City and also saw them play Brentford yesterday evening. It only confirmed what a good team they are. Despite losing both matches 2–0, they had big chances—especially early in the second half against City—and were punished against Brentford by two mistakes after long balls. They’re fighting for European qualification, possibly the Champions League, so they’ll be highly motivated. We must match that. That said, seeing how the players trained yesterday and today, I have a lot of confidence.”

Forest remain in the thick of the Champions League race, sitting sixth despite a midweek defeat to Brentford. Reflecting on the loss, manager Nuno Espírito Santo said:

“We weren’t ourselves. The two goals we conceded were very similar—situations we should have dealt with far better. Credit to Brentford for their play, but they didn’t need to do much to score. It was disappointing.

“The plan was to respond after the break, and we started positively, creating chances. But then they scored from a goal-kick, which was simply unacceptable. We need to recover, find better solutions and be ready for Palace. Ola [Aina] brought stability to the back four—that's fundamental. Our defence must be compact and minimise the opposition’s opportunities. Today, we didn’t do that.

“We have to be honest, compete better, stay focused and regroup. We need to cut out mistakes and be the team forcing the errors, not the other way round. That’s the mentality we must take into the Palace match. Thankfully, playing on Monday gives us time to reset and put in a stronger performance.”

Transfer Cloud Over Forest

In the build-up to Monday’s fixture, Forest have received a concerning transfer update. Renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano reported:

“Manchester City plan to advance on a deal for Morgan Gibbs-White in the coming weeks, as he remains a priority target. Personal terms are not expected to be an issue, though negotiations with Nottingham Forest remain.”

Gibbs-White has been a key figure for Forest this season, making 30 Premier League appearances, scoring five goals and providing nine assists. With Manchester City showing serious interest, Forest may need to secure Champions League football to have any hope of retaining the 27-year-old—a situation made even more compelling given that they’ll soon face the very team keen on his services.