The Scout on the standout options for the Eagles’ matches against Everton and Man City
Crystal Palace’s key players can have a big say in Fantasy Premier League managers’ plans over the run-in after their Double Gameweek 36 (DGW36) was confirmed by the Premier League on Tuesday.
The Eagles’ visit to Man City in Gameweek 31 was postponed due to the latter’s EFL Cup final against Arsenal, which took place on the same weekend as that round of matches, and has now has been rescheduled for Wednesday 13 May.
Palace host Everton in their first match of DGW36 and, like Man City, have five matches left to play – one more than the other 18 clubs.
Palace’s schedule
GW
Opp.
FDR*
35
Bournemouth (A)
4
36
Everton (H)
3
Man City (A)
5
37
Brentford (A)
3
38
Arsenal (H)
4
*FDR = Fixture Difficulty Ratings, 1=easiest possible fixture, 5=hardest possible fixture
So with Palace players looking appealing picks in Fantasy, The Scout looks at who managers should consider bringing in.
Who are Palace’s form players?
Palace’s progress to the semi-finals of the UEFA Conference League has resulted in some unexpected rotation in attack recently.
Ismaila Sarr (£6.3m) has started just two of the Eagles’ last four league matches, while Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.6m) has started only one of those contests, despite returning from injury.
At the back, however, head coach Oliver Glasner has kept faith in his first-choice picks. As you can see from the table below, this means that all of Palace’s back five were their top-scoring players in Fantasy over their last four matches.
One of the main takeaways here is the great value offered by centre-back Jaydee Canvot (£4.5m), who has secured a starting role since the departure of Marc Guehi (£5.1m) to Man City.
Similarly to the more expensive Maxence Lacroix (£5.1m), Canvot has earned two points for his defensive contributions (DC) in all of Palace’s last four matches. Canvot added to his two clean sheets with a further five bonus points to total 28 points, one ahead of the 27 of Lacroix.
Canvot’s budget counterpart Chris Richards (£4.4m), on the other hand, collected a combined four points from defensive contributions and bonus points, compared with the former’s 13.
Mateta is the top-scoring attacker after scoring twice as a substitute against Newcastle United in Gameweek 32. He blanked in three of his other four outings, however, to total 16 points.
Top point scorers, last four matches
Player
Pts
Returns*
Starting blanks
DC*/Bonus pts
Canvot
28
2
0/4
13
Lacroix
27
2
0/4
12
Richards
19
2
1/4
4
Mitchell
18
3
0/4
1
Munoz
18
2
1/4
4
Mateta
16
2
1/1
2
*Scroll across to see the full table on mobile. A return is a goal, assist or clean sheet. DC = defensive contribution points
Who’s had the greatest goal threat?
Glasner’s rotation in attack is very much in evidence here, with two defenders – Lacroix and wing-back Daniel Munoz (£5.8m) – tied at the top on six shots each over their last four matches.
Despite his limited pitch time, Mateta’s potential is also clear to see. The Frenchman’s total of four big chances, which are situations where a player is expected to score, are at least three more than any team-mate.
As you can see from the table below, while Brennan Johnson (£6.5m) and Jorgen Strand Larsen (£5.9m) have profited from more domestic minutes due to Glasner’s rotation, they have both struggled to make an impact.
They are averaging 55.4 and 52.5 minutes per shot – that’s well behind Mateta’s 34.2 minutes, with Munoz the Frenchman’s nearest challenger on 46.8.
Most goal threat, last four matches
Player
Shots
Shots in box
Big chances
Mins/shot
Lacroix
6
5
0
60.0
Munoz
6
5
0
46.8
Mateta
5
5
4
34.2
Lerma
5
4
1
63.0
Johnson
5
2
1
55.4
Strand Larsen
4
2
1
52.5
Scroll across to see the full table on mobile
Who’s had the most all-round potential?
Rotation also has impacted the creativity of Palace’s attackers recently.
Midfielders Adam Wharton (£5.0m) and Yeremy Pino (£5.8m) have only created six chances each over their last four matches, yet that’s still more than the rest of their team-mates.
In saying that, FOUR of Wharton’s were deemed as big chances created, which means, just like Mateta, he’s been involved in four big chances across his last four matches.
Canvot and Lacroix lead the way for defensive contributions, with 55 and 51 respectively.
Somewhat surprisingly, Munoz hasn’t created a single chance over his last four outings, with the Colombian clearly all about the goal threat.
His fellow wing-back Tyrick Mitchell (£5.0m) has created five chances and betters Munoz by two big chance involvements to zero.
Big-chance stats and defensive contributions, last four matches
Player
Big-chance inv.
Big chances created
Chances created
DC
Mateta
4
0
1
11
Wharton
4
4
6
24
Lerma
3
2
2
31
Pino
3
3
6
20
Mitchell
2
2
5
20
Canvot
1
0
1
55
Richards
1
0
2
34
Johnson
1
0
4
29
Sarr
1
0
2
10
Lacroix
0
0
1
51
Munoz
0
0
0
29
Scroll across to see the full table on mobile
So, who are the best Palace players to invest in?
Investing in the Palace defence is likeliest to prove the most productive tactic, should Glasner continue to tinker with his attack in domestic matches.
Lacroix’s multiple routes to returns via clean sheets, goals and defensive contributions make him the standout Eagles player to target.
Canvot’s growing influence at the back gives him the edge over Richards as the best budget defender and there’s an argument for doubling up with Lacroix and Canvot.
If you don’t want to tinker too much with your defence, goalkeeper Dean Henderson (£5.1m) is an equally secure pick, given the likelihood of him racking up save points.
While the risk of investing in attack is far greater, Sarr’s form indicates that he is the one most likely to reward Fantasy managers.
The Senegalese winger has produced attacking returns in each of his last three starts across all competitions, including his assist at Liverpool last weekend.