Crystal Palace host Tottenham at Selhurst Park on Sunday afternoon, and Paul Merson has revealed his belief that Jean-Philippe Mateta should start over Eddie Nketiah if Oliver Glasner opts only to pick one of the two strikers.
Palace have endured a miserable start to the new season, failing to win any of their opening eight league matches, accumulating just three points. The Eagles sit 18th in the Premier League table, and pressure is starting to grow on Glasner after Monday night’s defeat at the hands of Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
The Austrian head coach has deployed Nketiah up front by himself, ahead of Mateta, in the South Londoners’ last two fixtures, a decision Merson believes should be reversed for the visit of Spurs. However, the pundit has claimed that Glasner should return to using both of the players together, as part of a front two, with Eberechi Eze in behind.
Merson: Mateta Should Start Over Nketiah
Nketiah is yet to score in the league
Arriving from Arsenal in the summer in a deal that could be worth as much as £30 million if certain performance-related add-ons are met, in spite of some promising displays, Nketiah is yet to find his feet in front of goal in a Palace shirt. The 25-year-old has scored once, in an EFL Cup tie against Queens Park Rangers, but he’s failed to find the back of the net in the league in his first five outings for his new club.
On the other hand, while Mateta hasn’t quite continued his sparkling form from the back end of last season, the Frenchman has netted four times in all competitions, and yet has found himself on the bench in recent weeks, despite Glasner describing him as ‘excellent’ back in April. Writing for Sportskeeda, former Arsenal forward turned pundit Merson provided his thoughts on the striker situation at Selhurst Park, ahead of Sunday’s pivotal clash with Spurs:
“Palace are a tough team to face away from home. Oliver Glasner has to go with Eddie Nketiah and Jean-Philippe Mateta together at the top and try to get the win in this game. Mateta is a bigger unit and can cause problems to most teams, he’s a real handful and I’d even play him ahead of Nketiah if I’m being honest.”
Statistical Comparison 2024/25 (League Only) | ||
|---|---|---|
Stat | Nketiah | Mateta |
Appearances | 5 | 8 |
Minutes Played | 382 | 484 |
Goals | 0 | 2 |
Assists | 0 | 0 |
Shots Per 90 | 3.53 | 1.49 |
Expected Goals Per 90 | 0.19 | 0.33 |
All Statistics via FBRef – correct as of 26/10/2024