Crystal Palace need their defence to stay strong while Olise and Eze are out
Crystal Palace fans received an unexpected boost in the middle of August when Michael Olise put pen to paper on a new contract. The 21-year-old had been linked with a move away from Selhurst Park, with reports of a £35m release clause in his contract. Chelsea and Manchester City, two of the clubs where he spent his formative years, had both been linked with a move for Olise. Convincing him to sign a new four-year deal – with that clause removed – was great business by Palace.
“It’s the best possible news we could have,” said Roy Hodgson. The issue, though, is that Olise is yet to make an appearance for Palace this season due to injury. The team has struggled without his creativity, scoring just seven goals in eight league games. Olise set up 11 goals on his own last season – only Kevin De Bruyne (16), Mo Salah and Leandro Trossard (both 12) picked up more assists. He also made 72 key passes (passes that lead to shots from a teammate) – more than any other Palace player.
Eberechi Eze, the team’s top scorer last season, has shouldered the creative burden in Olise’s absence. He ranks 11th for key passes (18), third for shots (27) and first for successful dribbles (27) in the Premier League this season. The issue facing Palace, though, is that Eze is sidelined until next month. Palace also lost Wilfried Zaha to Galatasaray on a free transfer over the summer, so it’s no wonder they are struggling in the final third this season. The three players – who scored 48% of their goals last season and took 44% of their shots – will be missing when they face Newcastle on Saturday.
Granted, Hodgson’s side have not started the campaign poorly. After eight games, Palace are ninth in the table, level on points with Manchester United and one above Chelsea. However, they have not exactly lit up the league, scoring just seven goals in eight games – only Bournemouth (five) and newly promoted Luton and Sheffield United (both six) have scored fewer. Meanwhile, their rivals Brighton have scored three times as many (21). Palace have only scored more than one goal in one game – their surprisingly entertaining 3-2 win over Wolves last month.
With Eze and Olise out at the same time, there is genuine concern about who will score and set up their goals. They rank first and second for goalscoring chances created since the start of last season, with Eze on 75 and Olise on 72. Jordan Ayew is third on that list with just 39. That’s some gulf. Between them, Eze and Olise have set up 38% of Palace’s chances in that period. No wonder they played out a goalless draw with Nottingham Forest at Selhurst Park before the international break, mustering just two shots on target.
Their watertight backline offers some comfort. While the forwards have struggled to click, only Arsenal and Manchester City (both six) have conceded fewer goals than Palace (seven). Their two centre-backs, Joachim Andersen and Marc Guéhi, have excelled at the heart of the defence. If Palace were shipping more goals, there would be major cause for concern, but they are able to keep opponents out. That solid foundation helps them stay competitive in games.
Palace face a tough run of games over the next month. Meetings with Newcastle and Tottenham will be difficult, while games against Burnley and Everton will be tougher without their key attacking duo. Olise cannot return soon enough. He is due back later this month but, having not played since June, the young attacker will need time to get back up to speed. While Eze has not contributed to many goals this season – he has only scored once and is yet to pick up an assist – he has been key for Palace in attacking transition, with opponents going to great lengths to limit his impact; he has been fouled 13 times in seven matches, the 17th most in the league this season.
So, how do Palace navigate a tough stretch of games before Eze’s return and Olise’s full recovery? It’s not going to be easy. Hodgson picked a front three of Ayew, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Odsonne Édouard for the goalless draw with Nottingham Forest. Édouard is the club’s top scorer this season, with four goals, and Mateta is top for assists, with three. But they are not consistent.
Two of Mateta’s three assists and two of Édouard’s four goals came in a single game – the aforementioned 3-2 win over Wolves at the start of September. Mateta has never finished a league campaign with more than three assists and he has only reached double figures for goals once. Edouard’s record goal haul in a Premier League season is six, and that was in his debut campaign in England.
Expect Palace to hunker down and try to ride out the storm on Saturday. Their two league games against Newcastle last season finished 0-0. Given his injury concerns, Hodgson would be delighted to leave St James’ Park with a point. There is one potential ray of sunshine in the form of Matheus França, the 19-year-old they signed from Flamengo for £26m in the summer. The young Brazilian has been out injured so far this season, but is in line to make his debut at the weekend.
França, who has represented Brazil at various youth levels and can play in a variety of forward roles, was averaging 2.7 dribbles and 1.7 key passes per 90 minutes in the Brasileirão, so has the potential to shoulder some of the attacking burden. Until França is up to speed, however, they will rely on their defence. No team has kept more clean sheets than Palace (four) in the league this season so, at the very least, they know how to shut sides down. It might not be pretty but Hodgson is a good man for the job.
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private one-on-one sessions and running an academy in Manchester, helping youngsters get into the non-league system.
A desire for greater fitness from his squad is an early demand from Chimbonda. “I’ve been inspired by Guardiola, Mourinho, Simeone and Zidane, and as such just like those great managers, my philosophy will be to play attractive football,” Chimbonda announced upon arrival.
According to a 2022 report 43% of Premier League and 34% of EFL players are black but only 4.4% of managers are black. Chimbonda thinks he can be an inspiration for the next generation of black managers. He has taken encouragement from the Huddersfield manager, Darren Moore, having followed his career from the start, and aims to progress up the leagues.
Chimbonda could have accepted that managing in the professional game was cut off for him and given up. Instead the 44-year-old has seized an opportunity that others who have reached the same heights would not consider. “This was a learning experience,” Chimbonda said after defeat in his opening match. “I am a young manager; I’ve been in football more than 20 years but playing and managing are two different things. I will learn more and understand things more as time goes on and we will get better. My job is to make things good here and if it’s a benefit to the club, it is good for me as well.”
The gales swirling around Lancashire made the passing football Chimbonda dreams of harder in practice than ideal, but he says he is in it for the long haul and aiming to bring the wind of change. There was a platform to build on but if Chimbonda gets it wrong, it might cost him a few steaks.