2020–21 Crystal Palace F.C. season

Crystal Palace started the Premier League season strongly, with Wilfried Zaha scoring his 50th league goal to give Palace a 1–0 home win over Southampton. However, in the Carabao Cup second round, Bournemouth edged Palace in an epic penalty shootout (which finished 11–10) after a 0–0 draw. The defeat did not knock confidence however, as in the next game, Palace won 3–1 against Manchester United, with Wilfred Zaha scoring a brace against his former club. Palace suffered their first league defeat to end off the month, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin scoring in a 2–1 win for Everton.

Palace started October dreadfully, with Ben Chilwell scoring and assisting on debut for Chelsea in a 4–0 defeat. The next game was derby-day against Brighton & Hove Albion, with Alexis Mac Allister scoring a late equaliser for the Seagulls just before their captain Lewis Dunk was sent off. Palace got back to winning ways with Jairo Riedewald and Wilfred Zaha scoring in a 2–1 away win against Fulham, who had Aboubakar Kamara sent off late on. However, the good form was short lived as Palace fell to a 2–0 away defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers, where Rayan Aït-Nouri scored and Palace captain Luka Milivojevic was sent off in the closing minutes.

Palace started November strongly once more, with Eberechi Eze assisting and scoring once in a 4–1 win over Leeds United. Once again, the good form was short lived, as Palace were defeated 1–0 by Burnley, with Chris Wood scoring the only goal. The next game increased the woes, as Callum Wilson and Joelinton scored late on to stun Roy Hodgson’s side in a 2–0 loss to Newcastle United.

In a trend similar to previous months, Palace started very well with a 5–1 away win over West Bromwich Albion, Wilfried Zaha scoring twice and providing an assist after Matheus Pereira’s red card. However, the good form did not drop off, as the first game at Selhurst Park with fans since 7 March was a 1–1 draw with league leaders Tottenham Hotspur, with Vicente Guaita making superb saves to deny Tanguy Ndombele, Eric Dier, and Harry Kane twice. The next game also ended 1–1, against West Ham United, however it was Palace’s turn to drop points after Sebastien Haller’s bicycle kick. History was made in the next game, as for the first time in their history Palace conceded 7 goals at home, to Liverpool. The next game wasn’t much better, Anwar El Ghazi scoring a stunning goal in a 3–0 away loss at 10-man Aston Villa. However, some form of consolation came at the end of the month, with Vicente Guaita saving Kelechi Iheanacho’s penalty early on against Leicester City, but joy was short lived as Harvey Barnes scored a late equaliser. The game finished 1–1.

Palace started 2021 with a bang, as Eberechi Eze scored a stunning goal after running 60-70 yards and shooting into the bottom right corner in a 2-0 home win over Sheffield United. However, in the FA Cup, Palace lost 1-0 to Wolves with Adama Traoré scoring the only goal. Palace got their first goalless draw against Arsenal 5 days later, but they were demolished that same week 4-0 away to Manchester City, with John Stones scoring a brace. The next game wasn’t an improvement, as it was Tomas Soucek’s turn to score a brace in a 3-2 home loss to West Ham United. The next game was at home to Wolves, Palace getting revenge for their FA Cup defeat, as Eze scored the only goal of the game to seal a 1-0 win.

The 2020–21 season fixtures were released on 20 August.[3]

The third round draw was made on 30 November, with Premier League and EFL Championship clubs all entering the competition.[4]

The draw for both the second and third round were confirmed on 6 September, live on Sky Sports by Phil Babb.[5]

As of 3 February 2021[6]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premier League		FA Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	GK		Jack Butland	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
13	GK		Wayne Hennessey	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
31	GK		Vicente Guaita	22	0	22	0	0	0	0	0
Defenders
2	DF		Joel Ward	12	0	11+1	0	0	0	0	0
3	DF		Patrick van Aanholt	13	0	11+1	0	1	0	0	0
5	DF		James Tomkins	6	0	4+1	0	1	0	0	0
6	DF		Scott Dann	10	1	10	1	0	0	0	0
8	DF		Cheikhou Kouyaté	22	1	20+1	1	0+1	0	0	0
12	DF		Mamadou Sakho	6	0	3+1	0	1	0	0+1	0
17	DF		Nathaniel Clyne	12	0	11	0	1	0	0	0
24	DF		Gary Cahill	8	1	8	1	0	0	0	0
27	DF		Tyrick Mitchell	12	0	11	0	0+1	0	0	0
34	DF		Martin Kelly	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Midfielders
4	MF		Luka Milivojević	19	0	14+4	0	0	0	1	0
10	MF		Andros Townsend	22	1	16+4	1	0+1	0	0+1	0
15	MF		Jeffrey Schlupp	16	2	12+3	2	0	0	1	0
18	MF		James McArthur	18	0	17+1	0	0	0	0	0
22	MF		James McCarthy	9	0	6+2	0	1	0	0	0
25	MF		Eberechi Eze	22	3	15+5	3	1	0	1	0
37	MF		Nya Kirby	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
44	MF		Jaïro Riedewald	19	2	7+11	2	1	0	0	0
Forwards
9	FW		Jordan Ayew	20	1	11+7	1	1	0	0+1	0
11	FW		Wilfried Zaha	20	9	19	9	0+1	0	0	0
20	FW		Christian Benteke	16	3	8+7	3	1	0	0	0
23	FW		Michy Batshuayi	16	1	6+8	1	1	0	1	0
Players out on loan
33	DF		Jarosław Jach	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
35	DF		Sam Woods	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Left team during season
45	DF		Ryan Inniss	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
7	MF		Max Meyer	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0

As of 3 February 2021[6]

As of 3 February 2021[6]

No.	Pos.	Name	Premier League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
4	MF	Luka Milivojević	5	1	0	0	0	0	5	1
11	FW	Wilfried Zaha	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
2	DF	Joel Ward	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
18	MF	James McArthur	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
15	MF	Jeffrey Schlupp	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
17	DF	Nathaniel Clyne	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
25	MF	Eberechi Eze	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
31	GK	Vicente Guaita	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
22	MF	James McCarthy	1	0	1	0	0	0	2	0
20	FW	Christian Benteke	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
3	DF	Patrick van Aanholt	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
5	DF	James Tomkins	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
6	DF	Scott Dann	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
9	FW	Jordan Ayew	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
27	DF	Tyrick Mitchell	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
34	DF	Martin Kelly	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
Total			29	2	1	0	1	0	31	2