Preview
Three weeks will have passed since Palace’s last first-team fixture, and with the World Cup break now almost halfway through Patrick Vieira will be keen to get his side back to match fitness before welcoming Fulham on Boxing Day.
While Joachim Andersen and Jordan Ayew are representing their countries on the global stage, the rest of the squad has had a valuable spell off after a condensed schedule to start the season. There will be no let-up when the Premier League returns.
Palace’s opponents are among the biggest names in Brazilian football, and indeed the world. At the turn of the millennium FIFA ran a poll to decide the ‘FIFA Club of the Century’; Botafogo came 12th in the rankings, narrowly behind seven-times European Cup winners AC Milan and level with Liverpool.
Despite not having any players in the squad this season, they can boast the record number of call-ups to Brazilian World Cup teams.
