October 4 2018

Luka Milivojevic

Hunter Young identifies three key clashes to watch out for as Crystal Palace battle Premier League new boys Wolverhampton Wanderers.

After another disappointing result against Bournemouth on Monday night, Palace return home to face Wolves in what will be a tough clash at Selhurst Park.

Wolves have enjoyed a bright start back in the Premier League, having only lost one match so far this season. In doing this they have also collected impressive results against both Manchester United and Manchester City, including a run of five unbeaten in the league.

Luka Milivojevic v Ruben Neves

If Wolves had not been promoted to the Premier League last season they likely would have lost Ruben Neves, but instead, he helped lead their charge to the top spot in the Championship. While the midfielder is a well-rounded player, he is best known for his outside shooting, as evidenced by all six goals he scored last season coming from outside the box. Minimising Neves’ space to shoot from long range will go a long way to limiting his impact upon the match.

Luka Milivojevic’s rough start to the season continues as he has struggled to maintain possession in midfield and been exposed defensively at times. While dropping a player as influential as the Serbian at this point would be harsh, if this poor run of form continues the thought will no doubt cross Roy Hodgson’s mind. A dominating defensive performance against Wolves, and Ruben Neves in particular, could go a long way towards restoring the captain’s confidence.

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Max Meyer v Joao Moutinho

Joao Moutinho is the most capped Portuguese player in the Wolves squad, over top-class keeper Rui Patricio, and has built up an impressive international resume. The hard-nosed central midfielder has accumulated 113 appearances while winning the 2016 European Championship and representing his team at the World Cup this past summer. Moutinho and Neves complement each other well as Moutinho handles the dirty work freeing Neves for the attack.

Coming off an impressive Premier League debut last week, in which he was clever on the ball and active off of it, Max Meyer will look to continue a run in the team and grow more accustomed to the English game. Once regarded as the future of the German midfield, Meyer should relish the chance to go up against a world class player in Moutinho as he attempts to rebuild his career and take both his game and Palace to a new level.

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Wilfried Zaha v Ryan Bennett

Wolverhampton are one of the few teams in the Premier League that still utilise a three in the back formation with that being manager Nuno Santo’s preferred system. While the line has played well this season, the weak link is probably Ryan Bennett. Despite a large amount of Premier League experience with Norwich, the English defender lacks pace and could be exposed by the fleet-footed Zaha. Bennett is by no means a bad player, however he will face a stiff challenge from the talismanic Zaha.

Wilfried Zaha is simply on another level compared to many of the teams that the Eagles face and this week should be no different. Despite being held off the score sheet with a good performance from Bournemouth’s Simon Francis, the winger still supplied the assist for Patrick van Aanholt’s goal with a sublime through ball. Zaha has scored in half of his games this season and will favour his chances against Bennett to add to his goal tally.

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