Pierre Sage described Jorgen Strand Larsen's midweek brace in the EFL Cup as a "good problem" ahead of taking on Ipswich Town in the Premier League this weekend.

Strand Larsen impressed during Palace's 3-0 win over Middlesbrough in the third round, scoring twice as well as providing the assist for Daichi Kamada's stunning late finish.

The Norwegian has started two of Palace's four games across all competitions this season, with Sage alternating between Strand Larsen and Eddie Nketiah to lead his forward line.

It has been a difficult start to life at Palace for Strand Larsen, who has scored just six times during his 26 appearances in all competitions, but with Jean-Philippe Mateta out injured, Sage is welcoming the competition between his strikers.

"It's always a good problem when a player performs, and the others have to move them – because a coach always likes this. He always wants to have the better of the moment," he said.

"It's a good thing for the others, because they don't have to give up. They have to give their best too. Sometimes, this kind of situation has a good effect on every player.

"I think it's the same for every position. You spoke about the striker, but I think it's the same for every position.

"I think he will be able to start [against Ipswich], but we will see what happens, because Eddie Nketiah will be able to train [soon]."

Strand Larsen will be hoping to build on his midweek double against an Ipswich side who have suffered back-to-back Premier League defeats on their return to the top-flight.

After beating Sunderland on the opening day, Ipswich have since lost to Manchester United and Liverpool, the latter thanks to Alexander Isak's quickfire double.

Ipswich have already conceded eight goals in the Premier League this season, which is their most after three games of a league campaign since 1964-65 (eight in the second tier).

But Issa Diop, who joined Gary O'Neil's side from Fulham this summer, believes there are positives for Ipswich to take ahead of their trip to Selhurst Park.

"It's even harder when it's against Liverpool and a top side like that," Diop told BBC Radio Suffolk. "The good thing is the response after conceding the second goal was good.

"We stuck together; we reacted well. We could have done better in different ways. You can always do better when you concede goals, so we can work on it this week, and we will be ready to face Crystal Palace.

"We have a good group with good coaching staff, so I'm very happy here."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Crystal Palace – Tyrick Mitchell

No defender has had more touches in the opposition box than Tyrick Mitchell in the Premier League this season (10), and he proved his worth in the final third last time out.

He scored a brace against Fulham at Craven Cottage last weekend, as many goals as he had scored in his previous 103 appearances combined.

Ipswich Town – Julio Enciso

No player has attempted more shots in the Premier League so far this season without scoring than Julio Enciso (12), though his performances have been a positive for Ipswich.

Only Manchester City's Antoine Semenyo (21) has attempted more take-ons this term than Enciso's 20, completing seven of them (35%).

MATCH PREDICTION: CRYSTAL PALACE WIN

Palace won both of their Premier League meetings with Ipswich 1-0 in 2024-25, last winning three league games in a row against them in February 1995.

The Eagles also ended a nine-game winless run in the Premier League against Fulham last time out. They last won successive league matches in December 2025 under Oliver Glasner.

However, among ever-present Premier League sides in 2026, only Tottenham (seven) have accumulated fewer points at home than Palace (11 – W2 D5 L4). The Eagles could lose three successive league matches at Selhurst Park for only the second time since the start of 2024, having done so only between November and December 2025.

Ipswich, meanwhile, are without a clean sheet in their last 22 Premier League games, conceding 57 goals in that time (2.6 per game). This term, only Palace (6.5) and Fulham (6.2) have a higher expected goals against total than the Tractor Boys (6.1).

They have also lost both of their last two league visits to Palace, only losing three in a row away to the Eagles in November 1994.

And O'Neil has struggled against this opposition. He is yet to beat Palace in his five previous Premier League encounters (D1 L4), only losing more often in the competition to Man Utd and West Ham (both five). Indeed, his sides have conceded at least two goals in all five games.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Crystal Palace – 51%

Draw – 24.6%

Ipswich Town – 24.4%