Crystal Palace blow as new signing Matheus Franca ruled out by injury
The versatile 19-year-old forward signed a five-year contract at the weekend, leaving Flamengo in his native Brazil in a deal worth £17million plus £9m in add-ons.
However, Roy Hodgson has revealed that Franca will not be fit for Palace’s Premier League opener at Sheffield United on Saturday.
“The young lad from Brazil, who we have very high hopes for, is not going to be available because he’s got an injury that he’s looking after,” he said.
Jefferson Lerma is Palace’s other signing so far, but the departures of Wilfried Zaha, Luka Milivojevic, Jack Butland and retirement of James McArthur has left them thin on the ground.
“We are short in terms of the squad size and are aware of what needs to be done,” added Hodgson. “I’m optimistic that by the end of the transfer window this squad will be stronger.”
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news now : Crystal Palace: Best players, predicted XI + more
FPL team previews – Crystal Palace: Best players, predicted XI + more
Our 2023/24 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) team previews continue with Crystal Palace.
Summer transfers, pre-season friendly results, top player picks, a predicted line-up and a fan Q&A are all included in this piece.
From xG to chances created, you can read our deep-dive into Palace’s 2022/23 stats here.
Data in this article comes from our Premium Members Area, which you can access with a discounted pre-season subscription.
CRYSTAL PALACE: REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL
Roy Hodgson’s successful return to the Palace hotseat saw the Eagles lose only twice in their final 10 fixtures.
It not only ensured the campaign ended on a high note but also with comfortable Premier League survival; they were only three points above the drop when Patrick Vieira was dismissed.
Eberechi Eze‘s (£6.5m) return to form has also helped lift the mood after the exit of long-time talisman Wilfried Zaha.
Eze racked up six goals and two assists in Hodgson’s 10 matches at the helm, continuing his purple patch into pre-season (more below).
An underrated backline provides a solid foundation, too.
The Eagles were surprisingly ranked fourth for fewest expected goals conceded (xGC) in 2022/23.
And Palace’s underlying defensive numbers were respectable under Hodgson in his previous spell. They finished in the top half for clean sheets in his first three years in charge, things souring in his final campaign.
CRYSTAL PALACE: REASONS TO BE FEARFUL
How Palace do without Zaha is the big question.
A sometimes frustrating talent, especially from an FPL perspective, he nevertheless had a Fantasy goal involvement figure of at least 40% in each of his last three seasons with the club.
Michael Olise (£6.0m), himself courted by other sides, will also miss the start of 2023/24 due to injury.
Palace are down their two first-choice wingers from last season, then, with the less-than-exhilarating Jeffrey Schlupp (£5.0m) and Jordan Ayew (£5.5m) set to deputise for now.
A lack of a proven goalscorer in attack has dogged Palace for years. The Eagles once again go into the new campaign with Odsonne Edouard (£5.5m) and Jean-Philippe Mateta (£5.0m) as their two main options, neither of whom has scored more than six goals in a Premier League season.
And while Hodgson’s impact was positive in the campaign just gone, cynics will point to the fact that he arrived just in time for a very favourable run of fixtures. The first quarter of 2023/24 will be a much sterner test.
SUMMER TRANSFER ACTIVITY
Jefferson Lerma (£5.0m) arrives from Bournemouth to bolster the midfield, an area where Palace looked light in last season.
And the recent capture of teenage winger Matheus Franca (£5.0m) is a clear attempt to eventually replace Wilfried Zaha, who has left for Galatasaray.
An attacking midfielder who can play across the frontline, Franca is highly rated – but still very much one for the future. His substitute appearances outnumber his starts in the Brazilian top flight.
“Anyone expecting Franca to step right into Wilfried Zaha’s boots would do well to temper their expectations.
“Franca, at this stage in time, is an erratic player. He produces moments that make you shift to the edge of your seat, but he often follows them up with silly mistakes. He gives the ball away too much and frequently chooses the wrong option.” – Jack Lang, The Athletic
PRE-SEASON REPORT
| Jul 11 | Barnet 1-0 Crystal Palace (The Hive, Barnet) |
| Jul 15 | Crystal Palace 2-2 Brondby (Crystal Palace Academy) | Rak-Sakyi (Ahamada assist), Mateta (Ahamada assist) |
| Jul 19 | Crawley Town 0-4 Crystal Palace (Broadfield Stadium, Crawley) | Mateta (Eze assist), Mateta (Eze assist), Eze (Riedewald assist), Ahamada (Eze assist) |
| Jul 22 | Crystal Palace 2-1 Watford (Crystal Palace Academy) | Edouard (Ayew assist), Edouard (Doucoure assist) |
| Jul 27 | Crystal Palace 1-2 Millonarios (SeatGeek Stadium, Chicago) | O’Brien (Eze assist) |
| Jul 31 | Crystal Palace 1-1 Sevilla (Comerica Park, Detroit) | Eze (Doucoure assist) |
| Aug 5 | Crystal Palace 2-0 Lyon (Selhurst Park) | Schlupp (Eze assist), Edouard (Andersen assist) |
It’s been the Eberechi Eze show in pre-season, with the mid-price FPL midfielder chipping in with two goals and five assists.
Hodgson named the same starting XI in the last two friendlies to give us a clear indication of how he plans to set up in Gameweek 1.
Lerma is the only new addition in a familiar-looking side, partnering Cheick Doucoure (£5.0m) in the engine room.
With Sheffield United in a state of disarray, the Eagles have one of the most attractive fixtures of Gameweek 1.
Thereafter, things get a lot tougher: seven of their next nine opponents finished in the top half of the Premier League in 2022/23.
Home meetings with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Fulham and Nottingham Forest do stand out. The Eagles’ best fixtures in Gameweeks 1, 4 and 8 also happen to cover trickier fixtures for Liverpool and Arsenal, should you own the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.0m) and Gabriel Magalhaes (£5.0m).
Gameweeks 11-15 looks like Palace’s best run of fixtures on paper.
PREDICTED GAMEWEEK 1 LINE-UP
As mentioned above, this was the exact line-up sent out against Sevilla and Lyon over the last week.
Doucoure, however, appeared to limp from the field of play in Saturday’s win over the French side and may be a doubt.
Tyrick Mitchell (quad) and Will Hughes (knock) also haven’t featured since sustaining problems in the match against Millonarios on July 27.
Any absence for Doucoure could spell game-time for budget midfielder Naouirou Ahamada (£4.5m), who impressed over the summer – albeit in an unfamiliar right-wing role.
This predicted line-up was compiled on August 7, so make sure to check out our Team News tab closer to the Gameweek 1 deadline for the latest updates.
SET-PIECE TAKERS
Olise (127) and Eze (51) took over 95% of Palace’s corners between them last season.
With Olise sidelined, Eze should have the monopoly on crossed free-kicks and corners for now – and indeed his assist on Saturday came from a set play.
James Ward-Prowse (17) was the only Premier League player who had more direct free-kick attempts than Eze (14) in 2022/23.
As for penalties, Zaha’s exit leaves a void.
Eze stepped up to take Palace’s penalty against West Ham in late April, with Zaha incapacitated.
Before we can add penalty-taking duties to Eze’s list of plus points, Hodgson did suggest that wasn’t planned – but anyone else namechecked by the veteran head coach has either exited or is injured:
“I think [Zaha’s dead leg] probably did [influence the decision]. I must speak to them, I think he probably did, maybe. Eze’s good, we’ve got some good penalty-takers, Olise’s a good penalty-taker and the penalty-taker at Wolves, had we got one, would have been Luka Milivojevic, so we’re not short of them.
“But I still need to speak to them on Monday and find out what went on between them. I was pleased to see it.” – Roy Hodgson
BEST FPL OPTIONS
By some distance the most-selected player in this Palace squad, Eze sits in over 15% of FPL teams at the point of writing.
It’s easy to see the appeal with guaranteed game-time, set plays in his locker, penalty-taking duties potentially added to that, a healthy relationship with his manager, and two defensive-minded midfielders doing the dirty work behind him.
Above: Palace players sorted by non-penalty expected goal involvement (NPxGI) under Roy Hodgson last season
Eze was actually more goal threat (xG=3.96) than a potential assister (xA=0.91) under Hodgson in 2022/23 but expect those figures to be more balanced in Olise’s absence, with more and more set plays coming under his wing.
At the other end of the pitch, Sam Johnstone (£4.5m) deserves to be in the budget goalkeeper conversation.
Averaging 4.0 points per match under his current boss, he had one of the league’s best save percentages (76.5%).
The ability to blend clean sheets with save points is the holy grail for an FPL goalkeeper; Palace’s underlying numbers (10th for shots on target conceded, fourth for xGC) are exactly the type we would want to see.
Defender Joachim Andersen (£4.5m) is an alternative at the back.
The rotation-proof Dane had more shots (22) than any of the other Palace defenders in 2022/23, also creating seven chances under Hodgson alone
ONES FOR THE WATCHLIST
Ahamada at £4.5m is worth keeping tabs on, with other playing midfielders in this bargain-price rung thin on the ground.
And could this finally be the year of Edouard? Neither he nor Mateta have really grasped their opportunities in pre-season or in the years before that; the best advert for one of these forwards has come when a positional rival has started instead and stunk the place out.
FPL EZE was kind enough to answer a few questions on Palace for us.
As with the rest of our correspondents, a huge thanks to him for his time and insight.
Q. Who or what has caught your eye in pre-season?
“Only one answer: Eberechi Eze. And that isn’t because of my Twitter name! Eze has stood out head and shoulders above the rest in pre-season. With Zaha gone and Olise injured, Eze is our talisman and he seems to be thriving in that role. Goals, assists, skills, fitness… everything is going well for Eze right now. He looks well set to have a huge season, especially after making his England debut in the summer.”
Q. Who would be the top three FPL picks you’d go for and why?
“1. Eze: talisman, pens, best player. Ended last season so strongly.
“2. Johnstone: great value at £4.5m, Palace were very good defensively under Hodgson at the back end of last season and Johnstone has made the number 1 shirt his own. I expect him to have a strong season.
“3. Guehi: similar reasoning to Johnstone, part of a solid Palace defence and now the club captain. I expect Guehi to kick on again and be the 90-minute man every week as he leads our defence, hopefully chipping in with a few goals too.”
Q. Will you own any of Palace’s players in Gameweek 1? Why/why not?
“I think there’s a strong chance I start with Eze. I think he has the potential to outscore the other £6.5m options in Mitoma and Mbuemo. He is the talisman of Palace, without Zaha, and that could be key. I wouldn’t rule out owning Johnstone either if I go for a £4.5m goalkeeper.”
Q. Prediction for 2023/24 – where do you think your team will finish and why?
“I see Palace in a similar finish to last season, comfortably away from relegation but not quite breaking into the top 10. Unless we make a few more signings, I see Palace in 11th or 12th next season.”
