Palace by Numbers: Eagles rising up the ranks

First-team

27 Feb 2023

With more than half of the season already behind us, Palace players continue to perform strongly amidst a challenging fixture list.

Palace are one point ahead of where they were at this stage of the Premier League last season; check out some of the best top-flight stats from Patrick Vieira’s Eagles.

Midfield maestro

Cheick Doucouré’s impact at the heart of Palace’s midfield has been well-documented, and the stats are there to back up what is plain to see with the naked eye.

Only two midfielders – Leeds United’s Tyler Adams and Fulham’s João Palhinha – have made more tackles than the Malian international (59), who has also played more minutes than any other Palace midfielder this season.

Doucouré also ranks second in the Premier League for interceptions (with 40), only one behind Everton's Idrissa Gueye.

Having arrived in the Premier League at the tender age of 22 from French side Lens, Doucouré has certainly hit the ground running early on.

Attacking ambition

There are a long line of tricky wingers who have graced the field at Selhurst Park over the years, and none have provided more entertainment than Wilfried Zaha.

Yet again, the Palace icon has been taking on defenders up and down the country this season, making the third most dribbles per game in the Premier League (1.9); only Gabriel Jesus and Allan Saint-Maximin have made more. Zaha’s teammate Ebere Eze is eighth on the leaderboard (1.6).

The duo are not only consistent in this approach, but also frequently successful; Eze ranks second in the Premier League for total successful dribbles ("the player beats the defender while retaining possession"), with 39, with just Arsenal's Bukayo Saka ahead of him (41). Gunners' teammate Gabriel Martinelli is third with 38, with Zaha then fourth on 36.

Sometimes, there is only one way to stop him – and that is reflected in the statistics, with Zaha once again the most fouled player in the league this season.

Michael Olise has begun to have a huge impact after a breakout season in the previous campaign, and only six players – Martin Ødegaard, Andreas Pereira, Bruno Fernandes, Christian Eriksen, Kevin De Bruyne and Alex Iwobi – have registered more assists than his five so far.

Danish dominance

Joachim Andersen is an all-rounder, contributing as much going forwards as he does at the back. The Palace man has made the most clearances in the league this season (136 in total, or 7.2 per game), while winning the second most offsides per game (0.8).

However, his use of the ball in possession is just as impressive, playing the second-highest number of long balls in the league (6.5) behind Ruben Neves; regulars at Selhurst Park will be more than familiar with his ability to hit inch-perfect diagonal balls to either winger.

Safe pair of hands

Having made his 150th Premier League appearance against Brentford in February, Vicente Guaita underlined his continued longevity in this Crystal Palace side.

His strong form has continued this season, and the Spaniard has made the fourth-highest number of saves this season (80), the sixth-most high claims (25) and the second-most punches (17).

For Palace's defensive solidity - with clean sheets against Liverpool and Newcastle United in recent weeks - Guaita will be aiming to frustrate plenty more centre-forwards before the end of the season.

First-team

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