Formed by Hammers supporters Jack Elderton and Callum Goodall to offer their fellow fans in-depth but accessible analysis of their team and its players, Analytics United use performance analysis and data to examine how Crystal Palace could approach their visit to London Stadium…
Current FA Cup holders Crystal Palace have started the 2025/26 season in fine fashion, unbeaten in their first seven fixtures in all competitions after finishing pre-season with a Community Shield win over Liverpool. Managed by Oliver Glasner, they have consistently been one of the toughest Premier League teams to break down, a quality that translates well to knockout football where his style has brought major silverware to both Eintracht Frankfurt and Crystal Palace.
Palace boast one of the meanest defensive records in the Premier League so far this season, conceding just one goal in their first four fixtures against Chelsea, Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Sunderland. Their compact 5-2-3 defensive approach has squeezed space between the lines and in the centre of the pitch, forcing the opposition to try and play around the block, guiding wingers into challenging 1v2s against Glasner’s wing-backs and recovering wingers.
With those two players then backed up by a central midfielder drifting across to help and a wide-centre-back ready to step across and cover, Palace control wide attacks well before showing dynamism on the break with Ismaïla Sarr speeding in behind. With wing-backs that burst forward at incredible pace, Palace can turn defence into attack quickly, making it difficult for teams that have to throw more bodies forward in an attempt to find a way through their almost impenetrable block.
As with any team, some positions present more challenging tasks and Palace do tend to ask a lot of their three central defenders. With their out-of-possession approach relying on their ability to constrict central areas, the wide-centre-backs are often asked to step out into midfield to help should the ball be played inside. As a result, there is an expectation that they remain constantly focused, making split-second decisions over when to jump out and when not to. Simultaneously, the centre-back in the middle has to cover space brilliantly, mopping up any balls in behind and covering his defensive partners when they get beaten.
The wide attacking positions are also vital because of the load placed on them from a creative point of view. Previously, both Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise have starred in these roles, producing 0.25 xA (top 20%) and 0.35 xA (top 1%) per 90 in the 2023/24 season respectively. There will be significant pressure on Premier League newcomer Yeremi Pino as he looks to shoulder most of the creative burden whilst Sarr focuses on driving in behind, just as Jens Petter Hauge did to great effect for Glasner’s Frankfurt against West Ham in the Europa League.
Having signed this summer from Villarreal, 22-year-old Pino will need to replicate his 0.25 xAG per 90 from La Liga last season (top 5%) to produce the goods creatively but he will need to add so much more to fill the hole left by Eze’s departure to Arsenal. Eze was the key creator for Palace but also contributed masses progressively, ranking second and joint-third in the Eagles’ squad come the end of last season for progressions via carry and pass (69 and 97). To compare, Pino ranked seventh and ninth in the Villarreal squad last season for progressive actions via carry and pass (42 and 66), showing the young Spaniard still has some way to go to match England star Eze.
Alongside Pino, Palace have also added two other high potential young players in Christantus Uche from Getafe and Jaydee Canvot from Toulouse. These two fill squad roles previously held by Odsonne Édouard and Trevoh Chalobah but add much-needed positional flexibility to improve depth across multiple positions. Young Nigerian Uche featured across midfield and up front in Spain, producing impressive final third output with four goals and six assists for José Bordalás’ side. His inclusion in the squad gives support to Jean-Philippe Mateta as Uche competed in the fifth-most aerial duels in La Liga last season (215), whilst also providing creative assistance to Pino, where Uche managed 0.11 xA per 90 (top 22%), and improving disruption in midfield where he ranked fifth in the Getafe squad for total recoveries (110) despite regularly featuring up front.
As a defensive player who can play both in the back line and in midfield, 19-year-old Jaydee Canvot provides Glasner’s squad with equal parts on-ball quality and adeptness in his defensive actions, making him a good fit in defence or midfield. The young Frenchman is impressive when defending in wide areas against dribblers, demonstrating the second-best success rate across the Toulouse squad in ground duels (66.7%). And he uses his defensive ability to his advantage as a carrier himself, completing 70% of his 0.81 attempted take-ons per 90, making him a valuable forward-breaker from defence perfectly suited to a back three system.
Despite the Eagles’ positive defensive record, things have been tougher going in attack and the progressive fluidity that Glasner’s side have achieved at their best hasn’t been on display in recent weeks. Pressure has been heaped on Will Hughes to progress play, with Adam Wharton struggling for fitness, whilst Daichi Kamada has been forced forward again to contribute his greater familiarity with the role to receive between the lines or drop out to support the midfield. Still, Palace rank in the Premier League’s bottom five for both progressive carries and passes (41, 114) hindering their ability to break into the final third with regularity where they rank 18th for final third touches (400).
If West Ham are to find success against Glasner’s team, Graham Potter will need good performances from his wingers and lots of energy in the middle of the park. At 0.09 non-penalty expected goals per shot, Palace have conceded the fifth-lowest average chance quality so far this season and one of the only successful routes to chance creation against them has been through wide overloads and quality dribbling.
With Crysencio Summerville back fit and capable of a top 9% number of successful take-ons (2.52 per 90) and a top 3% xA production rate (0.32 per 90) in his last full season in the Championship with Leeds, the Dutchman could be key to opening space and generating chances in this match. In midfield, Soungoutou Magassa could come in to replace the suspended Tomáš Souček and the Frenchman can add the necessary legs and combativeness in midfield to help deal with Palace’s inverting wingers. In any case, with just two goals conceded in seven competitive fixtures in all competitions at the time of writing, Palace are formidable opponents and Potter’s side will need to be at their best to take all three points and get back on track after last weekend’s derby defeat.
*The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of Analytics United and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of West Ham United.
