Christian Benteke and Steve Mandanda could make Crystal Palace debuts vs Blackpool

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Giuseppe Muro22 August 2016

Crystal Palace will assess Christian Benteke’s fitness before deciding if the £27million signing will make his debut against Blackpool in the League Cup on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old striker completed a move to Selhurst Park from Liverpool over the weekend and arrives short of match practice.

Benteke did not feature for Liverpool in pre-season and only played 11 minutes for Belgium at Euro 2016.

Alan Pardew needs Benteke up to speed with Palace pointless after two Premier League matches and will speak to the new signing before making a decision on his involvement against Blackpool.

Some time on the pitch would help improve his sharpness ahead of an important home game against Bournemouth on Saturday.

“I need to find out from him where he is at,” said Pardew.

“They will have worked very hard in pre-season at Liverpool but it is how much game time he has had.”

Steve Mandanda, the France No2 goalkeeper who joined from Marseille in the summer, is also expected to make his debut against Blackpool.

Palace are still looking to add another striker to their ranks and Pardew is also in the market to strengthen in midfield following the departures of Yannick Bolasie and Mile Jedinak.

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