Aston Villa managed to put a stop to their poor run of form as they beat Everton last time out. Crystal Palace, on the other hand, are coming off their fifth draw in six games. Can Aston Villa build on their win with another three points against the Eagles?
I spoke to a Palace fan to find out more about Palace’s recent struggle for form.
AN OPPOSITION VIEW
Crystal Palace have drawn five of their last six games. Some of those draws can be seen as important points against the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and Newcastle but why do you think Palace have struggled to turn one point into three?
“Our creative players have seriously struggled and it definitely doesn’t help that we have desperately missed Wilf. If you had told me that we would pick up points against the likes of United and Newcastle I would have bit your hand off. It looks like Wilf will be back for the Villa game as well which gives us the perfect opportunity to push on and turn one point into three.”.
Wilfred Zaha is often heralded as Palace’s best player perhaps deservedly too. Who else has stood out to you as a player who doesn’t get as much attention?
“Wilf is crucial to the way we play. Without him, we are not the same team. In terms of other players that have impressed me this season, Joachim Andersen has to have a shout. The Danish centre back has been an absolute rock at the back this season. He received some media attention back at the start of the season for the way he treated Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez. That was a classic example of how Andersen plays”.
Crystal Palace have failed to identify a specific style of play this season. Do you think that Vieira is wasting the talents of an exciting crop of young players?
“It’s a difficult one. There’s no doubt about it that we have one of the most exciting young creative midfielders in the league. Having said that we haven’t yet saw how effective they have for a while. I think that falls from a lack of a role model when Wilf isn’t playing. This maybe something we need to get used to should Wilf leave in the summer”.
OPPOSITION FOCUS | WHY AREN’T THE EAGLES SOARING?
Under Patrick Vieira Crystal Palace have established themselves as a comfortable mid-table Premier League side. Whilst they look as though they will avoid relegation, they have never really looked ready to push for European spaces.
After a difficult start to 2023, I will be looking at where Palace need to improve this season.
First of all, Palace are in some form of a rut. Five of their last six games have been draws, and they have failed to win since 2023. When you look at the crop of players available for Palace right now, this form is borderline inexcusable. The likes of Olise, Eze, and Zaha are three of the brightest attacking players the league can offer. The midfield is packed full of hidden gems such as Doucoure and Palace, who have continued to nurture homegrown talent. So, if it’s not the players, what is it?
Part of the issue has to be that Vieira is struggling to invoke the creativity that he knows the likes of Eze, Olise, and Zaha possess. Palace have scored just 21 goals in 24 games. Eight of those goals have come from set-piece situations, which shows an overreliance on set pieces. Just three of Palace’s goals this season have come from counterattacks. This has halted Palace’s points tally as they are playing against teams that are mainly better at keeping possession than they are.
Furthermore, just 7% of Palace’s shots so far this season have been from within the six-yard box. Palace’s inability to get players into that six-yard box has severely reduced their attacking threat, which shows why they have one of the worst goalscoring records in the league. Defensively, Palace have blocked 9% of their shots from within the six-yard box.
As well as this, Place lacks an element of squad depth. Their reliance on the likes of Olise and Zaha in an attacking sense and Anderson in a defensive sense has left them vulnerable. When these players get injured, like Eze and Olise tend to do, they have no one to fill the gaps. If Palace is to push on, this is an area that they will highlight to fix.
Overall, Palace has struggled to get the most out of their talented creative players. This has resulted in them suffering from a dip in form, which is seeing Palace slowly rot towards the bottom of the table. Despite this poor run of form, I think Palace’s team is too good to go down, and they will remain fairly comfortable towards the bottom of the midtable.
MY PREDICTION
This is the perfect opportunity for Aston Villa to build on their momentum. If Villa can replicate their away from at Villa Park against a team lacking confidence, they should be fine. But … this is Aston Villa we are talking about. If a team are lacking confidence and inn a bad run of form, they’d probably want to play Aston Villa. Having said that, I’m going to predict yet another draw and go 2-2. Ramsey brace!
