Oliver Glasner has a lot to think about at Crystal Palace right now.
Where the Austrian was previously able to deploy his preferred 3-5-2-1 formation on a weekly basis last season with frequent success, winning six of the final seven Premier League games, the system has largely failed so far this term after Michael Olise left for Bayern Munich.
Glasner is considering a formation change in an attempt to drag Crystal Palace away from 18th place in the Premier League, with the likes of Daichi Kamada and Eddie Nketiah struggling to adapt.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 18 |  Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 11 | -6 | 3 |
Monday’s 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest even saw Daniel Munoz end up on the left wing with Jeffrey Schlupp playing on the right instead during the final stages, so tactically, Crystal Palace seem to be all over the place.
Now – however – Oliver Glasner has appreciated something must change, with The Athletic sharing how the man from Schärding has approached training at Copers Cope this week.
Oliver Glasner trying to make Crystal Palace more fluid in attack
Anybody who watched Monday’s 1-0 loss at the City Ground would have noticed a distinct lack of fluidity in our attacking play, with any openings largely coming from the individual talent of Nketiah and Eze.
As such, Glasner is said to have placed strong emphasis on “moving the ball quicker with one or two touches” at Copers Cope this week, while different formations are being considered too.
One approach could see Crystal Palace move to a more traditional back four, abandoning the presence of wing-backs.
Whatever approach we take against Tottenham at Selhurst Park on Sunday, The Athletic add that Glasner and his coaching staff appreciate changes are needed, after eight Premier League games without a win.
Jean-Philippe Mateta must play against Tottenham
If Glasner wants more fluidity in attack, Jean-Philippe Mateta must be reintroduced to the starting XI this weekend.
The Frenchman was benched against Nottingham Forest, leaving us without a focal point to play off and ensuring the Reds had little to contend with in terms of a presence up top.
Not only is Mateta – who has impressed in training lately – an aerial threat with his 6ft 4in frame, but he is also very effective when it comes to linkup play, often showing quick feet with smart flicks or lay offs, as seen in last season’s 5-0 win over Aston Villa.
With the quickest Premier League player of all time in Micky van de Ven at the back for Spurs, we are highly unlikely to exploit Tottenham with runs in behind, so playing off Mateta may be our best chance of a result in Sunday’s London derby.
