The Premier League is back this weekend, with Crystal Palace taking on Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Monday.
They are bidding for their first victory in the league this campaign. The two meetings between the sides last season ended with draws, 0-0 at Selhurst Park, and 1-1 on the road.
Oliver Glasner’s Palace side have averaged 48.6% possession so far this season (11th highest in the division), scoring just five goals, and conceding ten, leaving them 18th in the Premier League after the first seven games.
Forest have averaged 39.3% possession in the league this season, the second lowest in the division, but have managed to score seven goals (more than Palace), and concede just six (fewer than the Eagles), leaving them in a comfortable tenth place.
With both sides averaging less than 50% possession, it is tough to say how this game will be played, and who will take the ascendancy. That being said, a change in system for Palace could see them dominate more of the ball, and profile some of their players better to get the most out of them.
Glasner's 4-2-4 system
Glasner could make changes to his system in his hunt for a first Premier League victory this season, going from his usual 3-4-3 into more of a 4-2-2-2, which was seen in the last 30 minutes against Leicester City earlier in the season.
This would allow the Eagles to get multiple players into their best positions, with Eberechi Eze and Daichi Kamada in attacking midfield roles, Tyrick Michell as a nominal fullback, and a strike partnership of Jean-Phillipe Mateta and Eddie Nketiah.
One of the three central defenders would have to drop out for this to happen, as Maxence Lacroix, Marc Guehi and Trevoh Chalobah all started against Liverpool, and one could drop out for the return of Mateta to the side, to fully unleash the striker pairing people want to see.
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Why it's time to unleash Mateta alongside Nketiah
The “old-fashioned” striker as labelled by Premier League legend Thierry Henry, has scored four goals this season in nine appearances, also providing one assist, and totaling 623 minutes played.
Overall, Mateta has made 115 appearances for the Eagles, scoring 33 goals and providing seven assists.
His strike partner in this system would be Nketiah, who has made five appearances since joining Palace from Arsenal this summer, scoring one goal in the EFL Cup and totalling 384 minutes. But by playing them alongside each other as strikers, it could get the best out of the pair. Here’s why…
Goals
0.58
0.24
Assists
0.14
0.00
xG
0.33
0.17
Progressive Carries
0.59
2.86
Progressive Passes
1.57
1.71
Shot Total
1.30
3.10
Goals/Shot
0.33
0.08
Key Passes
1.37
0.29
Shot-Creating Actions
1.96
1.43
Aerials Won
1.57
0.86
Playing the pair alongside each other, it would allow Palace to lean into the individual qualities and attributes each brings to the team.
Mateta stands at 6 foot 4, and would be able to hold off defenders, win aerial duels, and bring Nketiah into play, whilst also finishing chances that come his way with high efficiency, shown by his 0.33 goals/shot ratio.
Nketiah, being smaller, could play off Mateta, using his high shot volume to generate chances, whilst also progressing play by dropping in and running the channel to help the team, qualities the 25-year-old clearly has, as seen by his progressive metrics already this season.
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