FPL team guides: Crystal Palace – Best players, predicted line-up + more

Gameweek 1 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) is drawing ever nearer and we’re profiling all 20 Premier League teams before the season starts.

We continue our team-by-team guides with Crystal Palace, seeing what their players have to offer.

You can check out our Nottingham Forest, Fulham and Bournemouth analysis in our Promoted series (articles that will be refreshed before the big kick-off).

Data in this article comes from our Premium Members Area, which you can access with a discounted subscription for as little as £2.49 a month today.

LAST SEASON: ATTACK

The mid-table finish of Patrick Vieira’s debut campaign as head coach matches the general rank for attacking statistics.

15 teams pulled off more shots but that’s only because the Eagles attempted the fewest from outside the box (111), with Vieira seemingly pushing his side to be patient and less wasteful. As a result, they come ninth for shots inside the box and eighth for expected goals (xG).

Palace finished just one point short of their highest ever 38-game Premier League total, while Wilfried Zaha (£7.0m) had his best top-flight campaign for goals scored (14) and FPL points (150).

Vieira’s biggest task over the summer was to replace the excellent loanee Conor Gallagher (£6.0m), whose fantastic first half of the season encouraged parent club Chelsea to keep him around this time.

LAST SEASON: DEFENCE

Palace’s underlying defensive numbers were outstanding in 2021/22.

For the Eagles to rank fifth over the whole season for conceding attempts, shots on target and shots in the box – whilst having the second-best record for allowing big chances – is both surprising and a great indication of Vieira’s impact at Selhurst Park.

Defensive solidity allowed some big wins to take place against the league’s best, with 3-0 home wins over Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal bettered by a 2-0 victory away to champions Manchester City. In fact, the Eagles have the honour of being the only team that Pep Guardiola’s side failed to score past in either meeting.

Palace’s back four also provided 12 attacking returns, thanks to the four assists of Joachim Andersen and two goals of Marc Guehi. Of all defenders priced at £4.5m, these two are the highest points scorers from last season.

OPENING FIXTURES

The nasty run of opening fixtures will likely prevent FPL managers from investing in Zaha and such a strong defence.

Trips to Liverpool and Man City take place in the first four matches, placing Palace bottom of our Season Ticker for the first six Gameweeks and they continue to be until Gameweek 13.

One plan might be to wait until the fifth outing, as the ticker ranks Palace as third-best between then and the World Cup break that follows Gameweek 16.

Palace’s run from Gameweeks 10-18 sees them face all three newly promoted clubs plus Leeds, Wolves, Southampton and Everton.

PREDICTED GAMEWEEK 1 LINE-UP

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