Morgan Gibbs-White

Oliver Glasner returns to Selhurst Park this weekend for the first time since leaving Crystal Palace for Nottingham Forest. Yeremy Pino didn’t quite have the desired impact under the Austrian manager last season, but he has played with more confidence this season on the left wing. 

Pino is averaging 2.28 shots per 90 across all competitions so far, and he opened his account for the season during Palace’s 4-0 Europa League victory over Lech Poznan. The Spaniard is always looking to cut inside onto his stronger right foot, and let fly when the space opens up, and four of his ten efforts in total this season have hit the target.

I was really intrigued to see how Oliver Glasner would make the most of Morgan Gibbs-White in his 3-4-3 shape as he seemed like the perfect player to slot into one of those two roles just behind the central striker.

He’s started the season really well in this role, registering three goal contributions across his five starts and acting as Forest’s most dangerous player. He’s taken 10 shots across these games (2.00 per 90), seeing one of those efforts find the back of the net. 

Gibbs-White scored 15 goals in the Premier League last season, ending the campaign as Forest’s top scorer. He took 83 shots across his 35 starts to reach that tally (2.40 per 90), showing a consistency when it comes to Gibbs-White’s shot output despite the change in style and system at Forest.

Honest Ahanor is on loan from Chelsea at Crystal Palace having signed for the Blues from Atalanta over the summer for an eye raising £40 million fee. 

Chelsea signing relatively unknown youngsters for that sort of transfer fee doesn’t even really surprise many people anymore, but Ahanor is seriously talented and has impressed in his brief appearances for Crystal Palace so far - especially when it comes to winning fouls.

Ahanor was fouled five times on his Premier League debut for Crystal Palace, playing as the left sided centre back in Palace’s 3-4-3 shape. He looked really comfortable on the ball in that game and will now face off against Liam Delap, one of the most careless forwards in the Premier League when it comes to making challenges.

Delap has committed five fouls across his three starts for Forest already this season (1.62 per 90), and maintained an average of 2.04 fouls committed per 90 across 12 starts for Chelsea last season. 

Oliver Glasner returns to Selhurst Park for the first time since leaving the club to join Nottingham Forest and I’m a bit concerned about his former club this season from what I’ve seen so far.

Crystal Palace have only managed to win one of their opening five Premier League games, with that victory coming against a Fulham side who I also expect to struggle based on the early signs.

What has been particularly alarming about Palace’s performances so far is how open they look at the back, conceding 11 goals across their five games with only Chelsea (12) conceding more goals in the Premier League so far.

There seems to be an air of discontent too, Sarr and Mateta both pushed for moves away from the club during the summer and there have been rumours of Pierre Sage already having disagreements with the higher ups at Palace.

Forest have scored four goals across their five games so far, but have recorded an xG of 7.30 from these matches. I think they are in a better spot than Palace at the moment and should be able to benefit from the defensive issues currently troubling Sage’s side.