Hendo looks forward to facing former club Forest
Dean Henderson says Crystal Palace can expect a ‘tough game’ when they take on his former club Nottingham Forest at Selhurst Park on Monday evening – but says an anticipated ‘phenomenal atmosphere’ could give the Eagles the edge.
The England international spent the 2022/23 season on loan at the City Ground from Manchester United and proved a firm fan favourite over the course of 20 appearances in all competitions.
The 28-year-old admitted to enjoying his time at Forest – who are impressing this season and vying for Champions League qualification – but is also relishing the Premier League and FA Cup push at Palace, who are into the Final of the latter for the third time in the club’s history.
Ahead of Palace and Forest’s meeting at Selhurst Park on Monday night, Henderson said: “It’s going to be a tough game.
“I think we're very similar. I think we’re both teams that sort of control games from out of possession, so it'll be interesting to see who takes the ball. That'll be an interesting one! But we're looking forward to it.
“It'll be great at home, obviously. The atmosphere is going to be phenomenal after the weekend we've had [against Aston Villa in the semi-finals], so we'll just relish it.”
On his time with Forest, Henderson added: “I loved it. Obviously it was a very difficult time [for Forest, who were battling relegation that season] and I really enjoyed that.
“Obviously I only played 18 [league] games and was forced out through injury, but I had some great moments there at the City Ground and some big wins as well, some important wins, and every single point was key at that moment.
“I’m really delighted that they're doing really well now. Obviously I'm really close to a lot of the lads there and still the staff members. I had only good things to say about them.”
With four Premier League matches left to play, Palace have the opportunity to better the club’s record total of points in the competition (49) – needing five in that time to do so.
“We'll go out there and just put our best foot forward and have a right go,” Henderson noted.
“Obviosuly, as footballers, you want to win every single game. And I think the reality is we've got an opportunity to do that now, and build momentum to turn a good season into a phenomenal season.
“I think it's important. You see with the Arsenal game [a 2-2 draw at the Emirates], we took a point there, and we took that into the weekend [to defeat Villa at Wembley].
“That’s what we'll be looking to do from the next two games, so we'll look forward to it.”
Match details
- Crystal Palace v Nottingham Forest
- Monday, 5th May, 20:00 BST
- Selhurst Park
- Premier League
- Live audio commentary on Palace TV+