Crystal Palace have had another difficult start to the season. The Eagles are placed 14th in the league table with seven points on the board, leading relegation candidates Fulham and Southampton by just two points.
With the international break affording us some time to evaluate, we take a look at the strongest Crystal Palace lineup which is likely to start based on their season till now.
Formation: 4-4-2
Defence
Wayne Hennessey has been the number one keeper for Crystal Palace this season, leaving us with little choice but to deploy the Welshman in between the sticks.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka has been one of the rising stars for Crystal Palace in this new season with his excellent performances. The 20-year-old leads the team in tackles(34) and interceptions(15) whilst making the third most number of clearances(29). Thus, he is an assured pick as the right back while Patrick van Aanholt starts on the left.
While Wan-Bissaka has notched up the third most number of clearances, it’s Mamadou Sakho who tops the chart in that regard and he will start alongside James Tomkins in central defence. Both the defenders have played a lot so far and won’t have any significant competition especially with Jairo Riedewald and Scott Dann struggling with injuries in the early parts of the season.
Midfield
While Luka Milivojevic is an automatic pick at the base of Palace’s 4-4-2, it has been a difficult choice to pick just one between Max Meyer, Chiekhou Kouyate and James McArthur. But, in the end, we had to go with Kouyate, who, despite not having the technical prowess of Meyer or the intelligence of McArthur, has notched up better all-around numbers.
The former West Ham midfielder has attempted more tackles(5 per 90mins) than both his competitors(3.1 & 3) and averages more clearances(2.3 compared to 1 & 0.5). He has also won all of the aerial duels he has participated this season, making him an obvious winner at the end.
As for the wider roles, Wilfried Zaha(most dribbles in the team) and Andros Townsend will be deployed on the flanks.
Attack
Christian Benteke’s return has somewhat boosted Crystal Palace’s offensive play even though the forward is yet to find the back of the net. Nonetheless, he will be leading the Palace attack alongside Jordan Ayew, whose pace and dynamism brings a different dimension to the offensive play.
Stat courtesy: Whoscored
