The stalemate at Selhurst Park on Monday night won’t live long in the memory.
Nor was it particularly impactful on Gameweek 33 scores, with many Fantasy Premier League (FPL) bosses swerving these two non-doubling sides.
As ever, though, the action, and indeed the post-match comments, provided food for thought for Fantasy managers going forward.
Here are our Scout Notes.
GLASNER TALKS GAMEWEEK 34 + 35 ROTATION
Palace players may not have been popular picks in Gameweek 33 but they’ll rekindle a bit of interest for the run-in, with an as-yet-unannounced Double Gameweek still to come.
The problem, of course, is the distraction of the UEFA Conference League.
Oliver Glasner has clearly had one eye on Europe in the last two Gameweeks, resting some key players.
Indeed, it was the same players who were benched in Gameweek 32 who also made way in Gameweek 33, namely Adam Wharton (£5.0m), Daichi Kamada (£5.0m), Ismaila Sarr (£6.3m) and Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.6m). Wharton was officially injured, and not in the squad, but Glasner said after full-time that his omission was merely precautionary. He’ll be back for Liverpool this weekend.
So, then, what chance of further rotation in Gameweek 34 and 35?
Here’s how Palace’s schedule looks over the coming fortnight (thanks to Legomane!):
As the outlook shows, it’s Gameweek 35 that is probably more of a concern, as it’s sandwiched by two clashes with Shakhtar Donetsk.
And that’s the impression that Glasner gave last night.
“No, [we won’t sacrifice the league for Europe]. No, we won’t do this right now. So, we have now four days to prepare for Liverpool. Players get two days off, that’s what they deserve. And then we will start preparing, and we have, I think, five days to the first semi-final. So, it’s enough time. Players will be fresh. Again, we managed the minutes today, as well. Some 60, some 30.
“Maybe after the first leg in the semi-final we have to rotate, but we are rotating, I think, for weeks now. As long as we have this amount of players – so, Adam Wharton will be back against Liverpool – and the players are in that shape, yeah, we will keep always playing the freshest legs and the freshest minds and then let’s see. We want the best output and outcome in the Premier League and, of course, in the Conference League.” – Oliver Glasner
Anyone thinking of Wildcarding in Palace players in Gameweek 35, ahead of a likely Double Gameweek 36, needs to be wary of the initial minutes risk, then.
IN-FORM DEFENCES ON TOP
As for Monday’s game itself, it wasn’t a complete stinker, but it was pretty forgettable stuff.
Defences were on top, and perhaps no surprise, with the backlines of these two clubs in good form.
In fact, in the last nine Gameweeks, these two sides are right at the top of the pile for clean sheets (CS):
Palace’s defenders, who have been less prone to rotation than their teammates further forward, are looking increasingly the more appealing buys for a mooted Double Gameweek 36, even though one fixture is against Man City.
Neither the Eagles nor West Ham reached double figures for shots (nine each). Nor did either team get anywhere near 1.0 xG:
GLASNER ON JOHNSON
Clear-cut chances were few and far between. Sarr stand-in Brennan Johnson (£6.5m) had the best of Palace’s opportunities, curling narrowly wide after nodding a header spectacularly off target from eight yards out.
Sarr, emerging as a 60th-minute substitute, did have the ball in the net, only for that to be chalked off for a very obvious handball call against Mateta.
Prospective Sarr owners, beware – Glasner was more than happy with Johnson’s display.
“It was a very good performance. He was constant threat in the game, having one big chance and a great finish and also it was his best game out of possession.” – Oliver Glasner on Brennan Johnson
MAVROPANOS A THREAT
West Ham came the closest to scoring, with Konstaninos Mavropanos (£4.4m) – again, posing such a big set-piece threat after his three recent goals – forcing a superb save out of Dean Henderson (£5.1m) with a first-half header.
Taty Castellanos (£5.5m) otherwise had the better of West Ham’s openings, seeing a bicycle kick cleared from almost off the line before stumbling at the wrong moment when bursting through on goal.
A rare quiet evening for Jarrod Bowen (£7.7m), then. He registered his lowest xGI since Gameweek 25.
Crysencio Summerville (£5.5m), yet to really capture his pre-injury form, had only one blocked shot, like Bowen.
“We could do better things especially in final third. Our combinations was not not clicking, not as we wished.” – Nuno Espirito Santo
“The biggest threat were the set plays, I think, where we had once a great save from Dean Henderson. But from open play, we controlled more or less everything.” – Oliver Glasner
DEFCON ROUND-UP
Mavropanos again just fell short of DefCon points. Axel Disasi (£4.5m), a revelation since he signed, bagged them for the very first time.
Maxence Lacroix (£5.1m) continued his own superb record on the defensive contributions front. He’s now registered 34 such points in 2025/26, the fourth-highest total among defenders.
