Crystal Palace vs Newcastle
Date: 27/11/2020
K/O: 20:00
Venue: Selhurst Park
Referee: Graham Scott
TV: Amazon Prime Video
Both Crystal Palace and Newcastle will be looking to recover from their respective goalless losses, in a historically tightly contested fixture, at Selhurst Park.
The hosts will be the more disappointed outfit following last week’s defeat. It was expected that, even without Wilfried Zaha, Palace would be able to take care of Burnley who had not even registered a goal, let alone a point, at their home ground this season. In hindsight, it was the first time that Sean Dyche’s five first-choice defenders, including goalkeeper Nick Pope, had been simultaneously fit to play and they reminded us of their defensive prowess.
Nonetheless, Zaha was an incredible absentee from match-week nine’s loss and Palace have now lost 14 of their past 16 games without their talisman in the team. His importance cannot really be quantified, and the lack of substantial creativity was a testament to that.
Simply put, no other player has been on the receiving end of a pass more times than Palace’s leading goal scorer this season. His first absence in 44 Premier League games was more than noticeable and will continue this weekend.
In his absence, Eberechi Eze attempted to shoulder the mantle of Palace’s main creator and attacking force. Eze was entrusted with similar responsibilities to those that often befall Zaha; to carry the ball up the pitch and create goals.
Palace’s newest signing had the most attempted (and successful) dribbles as well as carrying the ball for the highest accumulative amount of yards. Palace failing at Burnley was not indicative of Eze’s shortcomings, in terms of his ability to be that man on his team, but it was the result of a common theme.
Even with the addition of the notoriously clinical Michy Batshuayi, Palace failed to score from any of their 15 shots – their highest tally in a game this season. They were incredibly clinical against the likes of Leeds United and Manchester United, scoring a total of seven goals from a combined total of 24 shots, but could not muster a goal from 15 against Burnley.
This only highlights their struggles in breaking down teams who play much like they do – structure-based, old-school-style defending – which could be why they have had no trouble in dismantling the likes of Leeds and Manchester United this season.
Burnley, with all their returned personnel, proved a wall too strong to breakdown for Palace. Newcastle aren’t as proficient defensively, having not kept a clean sheet since their opening-round win against West Ham United. However, this poor defensive form is partly contradictory of the statistics. Newcastle have recorded the lowest expected goals against per non-penalty shot (npxGA/shot) against them. Meanwhile, Crystal Palace have the third-lowest npxGA/shot in the league.
What does this mean? Both sides are great at conceding mostly low-quality chances. In fact, they are two of the best sides in the league at it. And in a fixture that is bound to produce a minimal amount of shots – their shot per game averages are in the bottom six sides in the league – clinical finishing will be key.
Thus, Callum Wilson’s return for Newcastle will be vital, while Roy Hodgson will hope that Batshuayi and company will be able to redeem themselves from last week.
Team News
Crystal Palace
Hodgson confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Zaha will remain unavailable for the home side. He will have another COVID-19 test on Saturday that, should it produce a negative result, will make him available for match-week 11’s fixture against West Bromwich Albion. But Newcastle’s visit will come too early for the club’s leading goal-scorer. Otherwise, there is no other injury news to report.
Cheikou Kouyaté’s goal-costing mistake against Burnley and suspect defensive positioning against Leeds in the match preceding that, could potentially see him out of the side against Newcastle. Especially with quality, veteran centre-backs, Gary Cahill and Mamadou Sakho, fit to start.
Newcastle
For the Toon, the news is contrastingly positive. Callum Wilson successfully returned to full training during the week but may have to resort to a spot on the bench. Hamstring injuries are easily exacerbated, more so than many other muscular injuries, but as it was only a short-term issue Steve Bruce may push to have his star striker in the starting XI.
Jonjo Shelvey and Matt Ritchie have also returned to first-team training, having both recovered from their respective long-term injuries. A spot on the bench may have to suffice for both of them.
Predicted Starting XIs
Crystal Palace (4-4-2): Guaita; Clyne, Cahill, Dann, van Aanholt; Townsend, McArthur, Riedewald, Eze; Batshuayi, Ayew
Newcastle (5-4-1): Darlow; Manquillo, Fernández, Lascelles, Clark, Lewis; Murphy, Longstaff, Hayden, Saint-Maximin; Wilson
Score Prediction: Crystal Palace 1-0 Newcastle
This is a fixture that has produced more than one goal just once since the start of 2016. This is expected to be another low-scoring, 90-minute slog for both teams where the victory will be ever-sweet for the side that earns it. Offensively, Palace are not world-beaters, but Newcastle have been even worse this season, whilst also being less efficient defensively. It will be tight.
