Palace receive double fitness boost ahead of Hoffenheim clash

Crystal Palace have been boosted by the returns of Quinten Timber and Jorgen Strand Larsen for the home match against Hoffenheim in the Europa League on Thursday. Midfielder Timber and striker Strand Larsen have been sidelined through injury since Palace’s last European outing, the 2-2 draw away at Besiktas on October 22. Boss Pierre Sage told a pre-match press conference: “Both will be back with us. “They were training with us last week but not ready to play, but now they are ready to play. All the others will be OK.” Palace will attempt to build on their tally of four points from their opening three league phase matches against the Bundesliga side. The showdown under the lights at Selhurst Park will be their eighth game in the space of 25 days, with the Eagles juggling their Premier League and League Cup commitments with Europe. Sage is eager to put their domestic issues to one side after Palace slipped to 18th following three straight defeats. He added: “First of all it’s exciting, because if we play in a European cup, it’s because the team did well last year and won the Conference League. We have to deal with that, but it’s a good thing. “To deal with three different competitions, for the process, it’s always the same because we prepare in the same way. “The difference between the three competitions is the time we have before the games to prepare. “This time we have three sessions before the game, one more than the two before, and that’s really important because we need time to work, especially when we’re in our situation. “What we did during these sessions was really important for the confidence of the players, for their understanding of the game plan and for their capacity to apply it.”