Crystal Palace are finally beginning to build some form this season thanks to Oliver Glasner, however, the boss may have a major dilemma to soon address, with latest figures reinforcing how crucial three of his star players are to the club.
It’s been a marvellous two weeks for Crystal Palace, who collected six points from their previous two fixtures in the Premier League.
For the first time this season, the Eagles recorded back-to-back victories in the league, beating Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield and then winning 5-2 against West Ham on Sunday afternoon.
Over the two fixtures, Oliver Glasner has seen his side score six goals, with five of the goals being scored by Palace’s front three and the other one being an own-goal courtesy of West Ham defender, Emerson.
In the wins over West Ham and Liverpool, Michael Olise recorded one goal and one assist, Eberechi Eze recorded two goals and one assist and Jean-Philippe Mateta scored twice, telling of how well the trio are working together under Glasner.
Putting their performances over the past two fixtures aside, the latest figures have shown just how weak Palace are without the front three playing together, something that could soon be alarming for the manager.
Figures show how frail Crystal Palace are without Eze, Mateta and Olise together
When BBC Match of the Day 2 analysed Palace’s extraordinary performance against West Ham, a fascinating graphic was shown to portray the importance of the Eagles’ front three this season.
As highlighted by the BBC in the figure above, Glasner’s ‘terrific trio’ have been integral to the squad’s overall form this season, with Palace having a win percentage of just 18% when at least one of them is absent.
Another staggering take from the graphic is the fact that the Eagles have suffered just one defeat with all three players in the team compared to losing 14 with one missing.
Given the form of Mateta and the astounding general quality of Eze and Olise, it’s not surprising that Palace rely so heavily on them, but will Glasner be able to keep his front line together beyond this term?
Can Oliver Glasner keep the trio together for another season?
After managing to keep hold of Olise in the summer despite Chelsea agreeing to pay the winger’s release clause, Palace will likely be met with even greater interest in the Frenchman this summer.
This week, Fabrizio Romano told The United Stand that Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal are admirers of the Palace sensation, reinforcing how difficult it may be for Glasner to keep hold of the 22-year-old.
The same could be said for Eze, who is another in-demand player at Selhurst Park due to his dazzling performances this season, with BBC pundit Danny Murphy adamant that the Englishman will leave South London in the summer.
It’s expected, but concerning for Glasner, who would lose a significant part of his front line if the combination of Mateta, Eze and Olise was to be lost forever, as highlighted by the figures.
This season, the trio have contributed to 35 of Palace’s 42 goals in the Premier League through scoring or assisting, meaning just seven goals are accounted for by other members of the team, which is truly staggering.
Only time will tell if the manager can retain his marvellous front three, who are unsurprisingly attracting interest ahead of the summer transfer window.
