Crystal Palace: Lyon, Brighton, Besiktas – this is the season

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Crystal Palace: Lyon, Brighton, Besiktas – this is the season.

Three games in just under two weeks – Lyon, Brighton, Besiktas – and not a second to catch your breath. Crystal Palace beat Nottingham Forest on Sunday. According to The Athletic, manager Pierre Sage knows immediately: there's no time to celebrate.

There is no time for Pierre Sage to bask in Sunday's win against Forest with tricky games against Lyon, Brighton and Besiktas all in a row.

What at first glance looks like normal seasonal churn is, according to The Athletic, more than a packed schedule. The order is what makes it: Lyon first, Brighton next, Besiktas straight after. Three matches in a row, three different demands – and all of them "tricky" according to The Athletic.

For you as a fan, this means: over the next 14 days, it becomes clear where Crystal Palace's season is really headed. After the Forest win, the mood is up – now it will be decided whether that fresh confidence holds or crumbles under the weight of the fixture list.

What exactly is on the agenda in the next two weeks?

Lyon, Brighton, and Besiktas – according to The Athletic, three difficult matches in a row await Sage and his team. What's striking is the mix: Lyon and Besiktas bring two international opponents, Brighton a cracker from the domestic league. A combination that demands everything – pace, physicality, concentration, rotation. Anyone who comes through this block injury-free and with points has a genuine foundation for the weeks that follow.

Why exactly this stretch shapes the season

The Athletic heads its preview fittingly: "The two-week period that will set the tone for their season." What this means concretely: how Crystal Palace emerges from this block – with points in the bag, without new injuries, with morale intact – shapes the direction of the entire campaign, according to the report. Especially for a team that, after the Forest win, is suddenly back swimming up top, this trio is the litmus test.