Check out our newsletters…

45+2 min Mitoma’s down a few minutes and now has cotton wool shovelled up his nostril; he’ll be fine.

45 min Lerma inadvertently introduces elbow to coupon and Mitoma goes down; we’ll have two additional minutes.

44 min Kostoulas goes looking for the ball, picking it up on the right touchline and arcing in a low cross to which Howell is unable to apply a toe.

43 min What happened to Carlos Baleba this season? We’ve hardly seen him today but, more generally, the rampaging through the middle of the pitch, has gone and, as I type, he loses the ball, Munoz turning around the corner for Sarr, easing away at inside-right; he carries, then slices a rising finish which flashes wide of the near post.

42 min The corner goes back post and Lerma wins the header, but Sarr can’t get hold of it; goalkick.

41 min Richards into the box and Dunk heading back to him, so he goes again, looking for the back post, and Boscagli, racing towards his own goal, does really to head behind with an attacker behind him.

40 min Are Palace coming? Wharton swings low and first-time out to Munoz, exactly the kind of pass he needs to be playing, but the resultant cross is headed behind and the corner yields another throw in a dangerous position.

39 min But Palace have a throw, again launched into the box by Richards, and Lacriox wins the header, before Dunk hacks away.

37 min Rutter shoots low from outside the box, hitting his own man, and when the ball breaks to De Cuyper, his shot is deflected behind, the the flag goes up. I’ll level with you: this is not necessarioly a remotely good game of football.

36 min Down the other end go Palace, Mitoma arriving late and landing a forearm in Munoz’s phizog. He escapes a caution and the eventuating free-kick is easily cleared.

35 min Baleba drills wide for Rutter, who takes the long way around Lerma and to the line; he knows he’s not getting there, so shoves the defender, and is duly penalised.

34 min Mitoma hangs on the last line, targeting that space down the side of Lerma, but goes too early, the flag then raised for offside.

33 min Palace clips a long free-kick into the box, win the first two contacts and the third knocks the ball back to Wharton … who wallops a shot nowhere near anywhere.

31 min Mitoma is coming into this, working a yard down the left, beating Munoz in the process, and crossing low; at the front post, various challenges deflect the ball into the path of De Cuyper … chance! He leathers a rising shot that’s well blocked by Richards, but really, he oughtn’t to have smelled it.

29 min Sarr looks for space outside the Brighton box, Rutter challenges, and nails him with a shoulder to the swede. There’s a pause while treatment is administered.

28 min Feet from Mitoma, conjuring space in centrefield before spreading to Howell, who carries then feeds Kadioglu outside him; the cross is cleared.

28 min Hughes curls in, Brighton win first contact, and Mitoma completes the clearance by hacking away.

27 min Ah but here he is now, lofting a ball over the top which Sarr chases; Kadioglu, who doesn’t have the same pace, opts to shove him the back so from nothing, Palace have a free-kick down the right, between box and by-line.

26 min We’ve not seen much of Wharton yet. I was expecting him to be firing balls into Strand Larsen’s feet, but so far the game is passing him by.

25 min Pino gets on the ball just outside the Brighton box, looking to poke a pass in behind, which he eventually does … to no one.

24 min Rutter burrows forward but, as he reaches the box, discovers he can’t sublimate to pass through the defenders stood in front of him.

23 min Howell loses the ball with a loose pass but shows his strength, chasing back to make sure Mitchell can’t advance. He’s made a confident start.

21 min Brighton probe, moving the ball from side to side, but they can’t find space or an angle, Palace regaining possession and doing similarly, until Richards passes into touch. I was on Arsenal v Chelsea in midweek, and so far, this is no better.

19 min Gross teases fast and flat into the middle, Dunk arriving on to it only to glance wide of the far post. That was the best chance of the match so far – a low bar, granted – but it was still a pretty decent one.

17 min Katsoulas pokes to Rutter, who Cruyff turns into space and, sliding in, Hughes can’t stop himself piling through. He’s booked and Brighton have a free-kick 25 yards out, well right of centre.

15 min Strand Larsen slides through the middle for Sarr as we speculated he might, Boscagli doing just enough to poke back to Verbruggen. There’s not much in it, but so far, Palace look the likelier.

13 min Wharton wins a free-kick off Baleba, Pino swinging a diag towards the back post and though it takes them a few goes, Brighton clear without undue alarm. So far, we’ve not been deluged in quality.

12 min As regards Eric’s email, it’s the Palace fans singing “Have you ever seen Brighton win the Cup, have you fuck”. In that context, defeat to Macc is neither here nor there.

10 min A pass into Howell, who holds it well under pressure from Hughes but, when the ball goes wide to Rutter, his cross is cleared easily enough. Brighton seem to fancy him against Richards; I’d expected them to focus attacks on the other side, to see what Lerma’s got at centre-back.

9 min “I wonder which will be more entertaining,” wonders Eric Peterson, “the Super Bowl commercials later today or the Brighton supporters’ chants about Palace’s FA Cup, um, travails.”

Given Palace won it last year, I’m not sure Brighton have much of value to say on that topic.

8 min More touches for Howell, socks nicely rolled down, Hoddle-style; he looks to have nice balance on the ball, and not just because he’s left-footed.

7 min It’s scrappy so far, but Palace are starting to knock it about.

6 min Strand Larsen curries favour, closing down Verbruggen and charging down a clearance; the ball flies behind for a goalkick.

5 min Gross goes again, goes back post again, and this time Dunk, having lost Hughes, launches himself over Lerma to head well over the top.

4 min Gross swings in towards the back post, there’s a minor scramble, and Lacroix boots behind.

2 min Palace win a free-kick deep inside the Brighton half, Richards to hurl in, and it bounces off heads before De Cuyper spreads right and Howell carries forward then settles nerves with a pass out to Rutter. He teases Lerma then oozes by on the outside, his low cross cleared behind for a corner.

1 min “Can’t pretend I’m looking forward to this - 12 games without a win will do that to a man,” begins Dennis Johns. “But here I am with hope in my heart anyway. Assuming it’ll either be 0-0 or, like, a 3-2 rowdy roustabout of a game.

As to your quiz Q - I have no idea. Was Terry Venables involved? He had form - I believe his fictional detective was called Hazell. Or maybe it starred a young Alan Pardew?”

Incorrect, I’m afraid. I’m expecting a struggle, and am going for 2-0 Palace.

1 min Away we go…

Harry Howell is a name that belongs here.

Out come our teams…

Email! “Daichi Kamada is back from injury after a month out, though still on the bench,” writes Kári Tulinius. “I think his loss has been felt more acutely than most by Palace. He’s excellent at breaking up opposition play and launching attacks. While vibes might drag the Eagles down, I think having Kamada back will make a big difference.”

They’ll certainly hope so; defensively they’ve not been that bad, their 29 goals conceded the best record in the bottom half and better than Man United and Liverpool in the top. Going forward, though, they’ve only scored 25 times, joint second-lowest in the division.

I’ve not seen every Palace game this season or anything like it, but one of the most notable aspects of those I have watched was Mateta’s miserable finishing, especially one on one. If they can create those situations for Strand Larsen, I’d expect much better.

That Katsoulas goal I mentioned:

Something fun to read:

Maybe the WSL title race isn’t quite over? At the Emirates, Arsenal lead Man City 1-0; join Xaymaca for the denouement.

Quiz time: what does this seminal 80s kids’ TV show have to do with Crystal Palace?

Get a load of this:

Playing for Palace: Paul Hinshelwood, late grandfather of Jack.

I’ll probably end up looking silly, but I quite fancy Palace here. Brighton lack a reliable scorer – though Katsoulas’ brilliant goal against Bournemouth tells us he knows where the goal is – and I think Palace have the speed of foot and of pass to cause them problems.

So where is the game? Brighton will expect – and probably allowed – to have more of the ball, with Mitoma and Rutter staying narrow and Kadioglu and De Cuyper keeping width outside them – especially useful when facing a three-at-the-back system. The space will be in behind the wing-backs and down the sides of the centre-backs, though I’d also expect Katsoulas to target the space in behind.

Palace, meanwhile, will look for Wharton to fire those hard, low passes into Strand Larsen, with Pino and Sarr roaming behind, looking to combine and hit the space in behind; I’d also expect them to try plenty of crosses, with their new striker looking to hit the front post.

Glasner tells Sky that Strand Larsen has shown in training that he can score, something Palace have been without lately; the team need to offer him crosses and runs into the box to create space for him. He’s happy to have more options than previously.

Palace, meanwhile, are without Mateta but with Strand Larsen, who makes a debut. And with Adam Wharton back from suspension, Jefferson Lerma moves into the back three with Riad relocating to the bench.

Otherwise, the headline news is that 17-year-old Harry Howell comes in for a full Premier League debut; he’ll be on the right of Brighton’s midfield three. “It’s not about age, it’s about quality,” Hurzeler says, noting that excellence in training was crucial in making his mind up for him, also confirming Van Hecke has a small issue.

Otherwise, this kind of game it’s about focusing on your own approach and not fussing too much about the other team, which they did the last time they met Palace, who he knows are physical.

Taking a closer look at those teams, Brighton are without all manner of player: Stefanos Tzimas, Adam Webster, Solly March, Yasin Ayari, Jan Paul van Hecke and Mats Wiefer; Palace are missing Cheick Doucouré, Eddie Nketiah, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Justin Davenny and Rio Cardines.

Before we go any further, get into this. It’s the final over and it’s an arse-nipper.