Best Crystal Palace players to own from Gameweek 30 onwards
Following the look at Newcastle’s best players is a piece on Crystal Palace, the only other side to play twice in Double Gameweek 32.
The Eagles started the season terribly but – aided by six wins from their last eight – a league table since Gameweek 14 would have them in fourth place, just two points behind Nottingham Forest and with a game in hand.
Short-term fixtures look very appealing. They precede the double with a trip to whipping boys Southampton and a clash with rivals Brighton.
Daniel Munoz (£5.1m)
The Colombian wing-back’s ownership has escalated to 1.69 million, making him Palace’s most-selected asset. And his form is irresistible – one goal, three assists and five clean sheets in eight league matches, averaging 6.375 points.
Sprinkle in a couple of FA Cup goals during this period and he’s unignorable. Now one of FPL’s top-scoring defenders, managers can expect further success from his visit to Southampton.
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He’s this season’s joint-best defender for shots on target (11) and sits only behind Josko Gvardiol (£6.0m) for box touches (81) and big chances (nine). A tally of 4.11 expected goals (xG) is underachieving, while a burst of clean sheets means Palace have conceded the third-fewest overall strikes (33). The league’s best backline since Gameweek 18.
Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m)
Elsewhere, we need confirmation that centre-forward Mateta will return to the starting lineup at Southampton, after being hurt in a nasty cup collision with Millwall’s goalkeeper.
If so, he has a chance to continue some brilliant recent form of eight goals in eight. It’s a reminder to managers of last season’s superb late run of nine in six that made him FPL’s second-highest scorer between Gameweeks 28 and 38.
At a time when so few forwards have appeal, he’s about to face the last-placed Saints and could have consecutive Double Gameweeks 32 and 33. This occurs if Palace beat Fulham in the FA Cup.
Eberechi Eze (£6.7m)
Furthermore, Mateta has taken both of this season’s penalties. That dents the appeal of playmaker Eze, though he still dominates set pieces and is the club leader for chances created (49).
Being on the league’s sixth-most shots (83) gets attention – especially when they come at a quicker rate than the five names above him. But many of these are from outside the box, explaining his lowly two goals. Still, he’s the biggest xG underachiever around (-4.12), which suggests that more are imminent.
Ismaila Sarr (£5.6m)
However, attacking midfielder Sarr is cheaper than Eze and beats him for points (113 v 86), goals (7 v 2), big chances (17 v 7), big chances created (12 v 9) and expected goal involvement (12.68 v 9.42). He’s even ahead of Mateta for penalty area touches (103) and shots on target (24).
Managers could be put off by their previous experiences with him. The streaky 27-year-old scored three times in two December matches and three in Palace’s latest couple, yet the nine in-between only brought one assist. Naturally, Sarr waited until people lost faith and sold him before returning to form.
His low price is handy for potential Bench Boost usage, though.
