Selhurst Park prepares to welcome a London derby this weekend, with Crystal Palace and Fulham facing off against each other in the Premier League. The two sides have had contrasting starts to their respective seasons, with Fulham exceeding expectations whilst Palace fail to match theirs, but all that won’t matter when both sides go for the three points on Saturday.
Both teams will know that the win is a possibility, with recent results requiring late goals to rescue important points in their most recent matches, but what will we have to watch out for when they face off this weekend.
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Opponent analysis
For a while, Fulham were simply a yo-yo club. A few years in the Championship followed by a dominant promotion, which almost certainly led to instant relegation. Fast forward to now and even without their previous star players it seems as if Fulham are here to stay.
Every season seems to lead to the loss of a key player and yet they still find a way to produce against the odds. The likes of Aleksandar Mitrovic and Joao Palhinha leaving was supposed to hurt the club beyond repair, and as of now they find themselves in an unlikely 9th position in the league.
Manager Marco Silva is a huge part of this, working well with the crop of players he has in his squad and often overperforming with them on paper. Last season Rodrigo Muniz even won Player Of The Month, which was impressive considering the lack of expectation from everyone else and the fact that he had to wait for his opportunity.
Whilst Muniz’ form hasn’t been as consistent as his purple patch towards the end of last season, his side have continued to prove why they are Premier League material. Sat only a point behind a potential European place, the teams above them are all the usual culprits and the high-flying Nottingham Forest. Manchester United remain below them, their own dire situation leading to the first managerial change in the league this season, but Fulham will hope to remain above them for as long as possible.
They will look to keep their run of form going, often sticking with a 4-2-3-1 shape to remain strong in the midfield. Ex- Burnley midfielder Sander Berge is their main ball winner, with Andreas Pereira performing in multiple roles since the arrival of Emile Smith-Rowe from Arsenal. That form has earned him a number of call ups to the Brazil national team in recent international breaks, more often playing as a deeper playmaker than he was last season but still proving to be a key player nonetheless.
In their most recent match (a 2:1 victory over Brentford) Fulham dominated every attacking statistic; over double Brentford’s possession, over five times as many shots and just under half of those shots were on target (Brentford had two shots on target, with one being their goal). They completed 643 passes with an 88% pass completion rate and dominated the entire match. If they weren’t 1:0 down until extra time, their entire performance would arguably have been heralded by pundits and fans alike.
Clearly Fulham are a side who like to control the ball and enjoy being on the front foot a lot, but interestingly they like to utilise crosses in their game. Against teams around them in the table they tend to put 20+ crosses into the box, and against Brentford they attempted 43 crosses compared to their opposition’s six. Whether this works against Crystal PPalace’s back three remains to be seen, but it’s certainly something to watch out for.
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Lacking consistency
Crystal Palace have just had what could be a defining few weeks in what has been a tough season so far. The victory against Spurs was something that could have provided necessary motivation, and a win against Aston Villa in the EFL Cup was yet another impressive result for the misfiring side. However, three wins on the bounce wasn’t possible and instead they provided an entertaining yet disappointing 2:2 draw against Wolves. Clinical finishing was another issue here, with scrappy goals and shocking misses from a Palace perspective being the story of the match.
It was yet another match where Palace were happy to let their opposition control the ball, and their often resolute defence forced Wolves into only 11 shots. The issue defensively just seemed to come from being caught on the break, with the defence being left isolated at times and Wolves’ attackers were able to split the team apart all too easily from those positions.
Ten matches into the league season should be enough time for a largely changed side from last season’s team to gel, but individual performances have either saved Palace or cost them; Trevor Chalobah will be looking at himself and his missed chance early on but at least he could make up for it with a second half goal. Jean-Phillipe Mateta could not.
Even some fringe players haven’t done enough to prove why they’re there. Players like Eddie Nketiah have failed to make his mark this season, although that may be owing more to how he specifically being played in the system. Arguably more suited to how Mateta’s being asked to play, the English striker has struggled starting in a deeper role than he played at Arsenal. He is unlikely to start this weekend, and maybe that’s a good thing for all parties involved. The individual quality is there at the club, but time will be needed to unleash it and find a best eleven.
Based off their last three performances, this is a side that can remain in the Premier League, but results matter more than peformances. This would be the perfect match for The Eagles to right the wrongs of 2024/25 and make it yet another match unbeaten.
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Players to watch
Antonee Robinson is one of the best players Fulham have had in recent years, constantly being linked with larger teams in the Premier League and beyond. His loyalty when other players have left for seemingly bigger things has highlighted just how much his club has grown. No one knows when it will be his last season, but this will be just another match where he performs at his best.
As for Palace, it will likely be star striker Jean-Phillipe Mateta who will be the difference maker when the sides meet. His finishing ability isn’t in doubt, but this hasn’t been the start to his season that anyone envisaged. The goals will come; an unlucky foul prevented him from scoring a late winner vs Wolves. The problem most likely will be whether he can take his chances as they come, something the attack has been incapable of doing this season. It could click this weekend, Mateta will hope it does.
