We run the rule over Crystal Palace v Brighton and Hove Albion in the first Scout Notes article of Gameweek 18.
MITOMA INJURY LATEST
Kaoru Mitoma (£6.5m) left Selhurst Park on crutches, having taken a knock to his ankle late on.
The Japan international was helped off the pitch, leaving question marks about his availability for not only Gameweek 19, but also the forthcoming Asian Cup.
Roberto De Zerbi could not confirm the severity of the injury immediately after the match, only saying:
“With Mitoma, I hope it won’t be a big injury for him and us. But I don’t know. We will see in the next few days.” – Roberto De Zerbi
CREATORS STEP UP
Michael Olise (£5.8m) and Pascal Gross (£6.4m) were superb at Selhurst Park, both producing moments of real quality.
Palace wanted to get the ball out wide and use their wingers’ pace and skill at every opportunity, which Olise thrived on. The 22-year-old ran the show at times, with one of his four successful crosses headed home by Jordan Ayew (£5.4m).
After an injury-disrupted start to the season, Olise has shown flashes of brilliance in his six matches since returning, racking up two goals, one assist and 30 points.
In that time, he has taken 13 shots and created 16 chances.
It hasn’t been the most impressive league campaign for Palace so far, with some pressure on manager Roy Hodgson, but with Olise and Eberechi Eze (£6.0m) – who continued his return to fitness with another 20 minutes off the bench here – back in the fold, they will have a much more attacking look about them in the coming weeks.
As for Gross, his perfect cross landed on the head of Danny Welbeck (£5.7m), rescuing a point for Brighton.
The vastly underrated German has now produced one goal and five assists over the last six Gameweeks. Averaging 7.2 points per start during that run, he’s also created 25 chances for his team-mates, four more than any other player. Olise also features on this list in fourth.
Above: Players sorted by chances created in the last six Gameweeks
Gross’ versatility was on show at Selhurst Park, meanwhile.
He started in an advanced number 10 role in-behind Joao Pedro (£5.4m), before gradually moving back as the match went on, eventually finishing at right-back.
“Earlier in the week, we’d been talking about positions we wanted to take up in the box. It’s a great header, a nice one! Me and Pascal [Gross] were speaking, we’ve always had a good relationship. Once he gets the ball in certain areas, I know he’s going to deliver it with quality. I tried to get myself free and it was a great header.” – Danny Welbeck
LEAKY BRIGHTON
It’s now 22 league games in a row for Brighton without a clean sheet, with 31 goals conceded in the league this season. Only the bottom three have a worse defensive record.
Here, their backline was somewhat makeshift, with Igor Julio (£4.3m) at left-back, midfielder Jack Hinshelwood (£4.5m) inverting from the right and Jan Paul van Hecke (£4.0m) starting his eighth league game in a row at centre-half.
It’s no surprise they struggled to control Olise, then, although it was goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen (£4.4m) at fault for Ayew’s opener, when his rushed clearance was intercepted.
However, De Zerbi’s two half-time changes made all the difference, with Facundo Buonanotte (£4.7m) and Welbeck replacing youngsters Carlos Baleba (£4.5m) and Simon Adingra (£5.0m).
From that point onwards, Albion were in control and it always looked like they would grab an equaliser.
“I think we played in a different way in the second half, played with more energy and invention to score. We concede another bad goal and we can play better and we can’t lose the ball in that way. We have to accept the policy of the club is to play with many young players. With the young players, you have to give them time to make mistakes.” – Roberto De Zerbi on his half-time subs
Brighton do now at least have a week off, before playing Tottenham Hotspur at home next Thursday. They then visit West Ham United on 2 January, meaning Albion are starting and ending the Christmas schedule.
While Chelsea will have the shortest recovery time between their first kick-off and third kick-off in this period, Brighton have the most.
