Crystal Palace have struggled this season with goals proving hard to come by for Oliver Glasner and his attacking outfit.
The struggles in front of goal and in creating chances have meant Crystal Palace sit inside the relegation zone after seven games this season – without a single win.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 16 |  EvertonEverton | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 15 | -8 | 5 |
| 17 |  IpswichIpswich | 7 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 14 | -8 | 4 |
| 18 |  Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace | 7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 10 | -5 | 3 |
| 19 |  SouthamptonSouthampton | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 15 | -11 | 1 |
| 20 |  WolvesWolves | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 21 | -12 | 1 |
Crystal Palace have scored just five goals, drawing three blanks in the process with Jean-Philippe Mateta scoring two of the five goals.
This is relegation form from the Eagles, and despite Opta predicting Crystal Palace’s survival, we are inclined to be concerned.
This is especially the case in attack as an alarming dataset has emerged.
Crystal Palace are struggling to create chances
Losing a player as creative as Michael Olise was always going to see the Eagles troubled in attack as he was not replaced adequately by Dougie Freedman.
READ MORE: Who is Dougie Freedman? The Crystal Palace Sporting Director linked with Manchester United switch
This has affected the way Oliver Glasner’s team have been playing and led to some serious struggles – which can now be quantified through data.
Crystal Palace have taken 92 shots at goal this season which is 10th most in the league – a very respectable tally but it does raise the question of how we have seen so few goals.
This can be explained as the Eagles have had just 46 of those shots inside the box – with 37 outside of the box which ranks Glasner’s side fourth in the league.
While shots from range can sometimes work out for the best – such as with Eberechi Eze’s long strike against Chelsea.
However, the chance of scoring from range is much slimmer than from chances created inside the box – which is the true problem with this Eagles attack which just is not creating enough chances.
Along with this, the Eagles have fumbled countless chances when one has fallen their way.
Ultimately these problems fall on Glasner, and the Austrian has some serious problems to fix.
Why Oliver Glasner needs to make changes for the Eagles
Glasner’s team are a long way from the quality and level that we became accustomed to last season and much of the struggles are due to the system in place.
With Eddie Nketiah used as a right-sided number 10 for much of this season, there has been a real lack of creativity on that side of the pitch as the Eagles’ No.9 is a striker and therefore doesn’t create much.
This has screwed up the automatisms Glasner had in place last season when Crystal Palace went on that impressive run to conclude the season with creative wingers in Eze and Olise on the pitch.
| Crystal Palace player | Chances created |
| Eberechi Eze | 14 |
| Daichi Kamada | 6 |
| Ismaila Sarr | 5 |
| Eddie Nketiah | 1 |
The problem also lies deeper though, with the Eagles’ midfield far less effective than it was – due in part to Adam Wharton’s struggles but also the fact Daichi Kamada is not a first-phase midfielder.
All these factors are contributing to the Eagles’ struggles in front of goal and Glasner absolutely needs to make changes.
