Oliver Glasner has several big team decisions to make ahead of Crystal Palace’s Saturday fixture against Leicester City.
Crystal Palace could see as many as three debuts made this weekend against Leicester after a busy deadline day at Selhurst Park.
One man who will not be getting a debut is Trevoh Chalobah who Oliver Glasner has ruled out through an abdominal injury – he could also miss the trip to Old Trafford next week.
However, while Chalobah will not feature, Glasner has all but confirmed the summer’s marquee signing will be starting at 3 pm on Saturday against Leicester.
Oliver Glasner on where Eddie Nketiah fits in
Some very talented footballers were signed this summer by Crystal Palace and yet some are not even starters.
This fixes the issue of a lack of depth in the Eagles squad which was detrimental at times last season.
But one player who has been brought in to start games is Eddie Nketiah who cost £25m from Arsenal.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference for the game against Leicester, Oliver Glasner was quizzed on several players including Eddie Nketiah and whether he would be starting against Leicester.
“Yes, he’s ready to start. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have spent about £25 million. We don’t spend £25million for a player to be on the bench.”
Following this, Glasner explained how he plans to use both Nketiah and Mateta together in his team.
“He can play different positions – he’s very smart. He is a different profile to Jean-Philippe [Mateta].”
This follows reports that Glasner had deployed Nketiah as both a number 10 and also a striker during a friendly played through the international break.
Perhaps this is the direction which will be taken, with Nketiah almost as a false nine to play in an almost 9.5 role. This would tie in with Crystal Palace wanting Nketiah to make runs in behind, something Michael Olise could not do.
How Crystal Palace’s front three could look
After the summer transfer window, Crystal Palace have some solid options to rotate across the front three positions.
| Left-sided 10 | Striker | Right-sided 10 |
| Eberechi Eze | Jean-Philippe Mateta | Eddie Nketiah |
| Daichi Kamada | Eddie Nketiah | Ismaila Sarr |
| Matheus Franca | N/A | Jeffrey Schlupp |
This is a far better selection than what Glasner found when he arrived last February and looks dangerous enough to push into the top 10 and go toe-to-toe with some of the league’s best defences.
The three top options seem to be guaranteed starters but the options below them are also quality, which Ismaila Sarr for example showed when he was subbed on against Chelsea.
If Glasner manages to get these players ticking, it could be what makes this season a huge success for the Eagles.
