In recent times, Odsonne Edouard has fallen out of favour at Crystal Palace, with Jean-Philippe Mateta getting a chance in his place.
Indeed, the former Celtic striker has played just one minute of football across the last four games in all competitions for the Eagles, while Mateta has played in all of those games, starting twice.
Still, in the recent narrow FA Cup win over Stoke City, Mateta didn’t exactly impress, with the Evening Standard describing his performance as ‘clumsy and wasteful’.
With both men failing to fully convince, TIF has decided to try and work out who Patrick Vieira should really be playing.
Odsonne Edouard
Having arrived in the summer for a reported initial fee of around £14m, the Frenchman has not quite set south London on fire so far. He may have netted a brace during his memorable Premier League debut against Tottenham Hotspur, but since then, he’s only added four more goals to his tally in 23 appearances across all competitions.
When comparing him to Mateta’s stats at Palace this season (via FBRef), Edouard takes more shots, completes more passes, and even manages more tackles per game on average.
On top of that, he is also far better at creating shooting opportunities for his teammates. Indeed, Edouard manages 2.24 shot-creating actions per 90, compared to Mateta’s 0.87. Meanwhile, he has three more assists – though has played more games.
Will Odsonne Edouard come good for Crystal Palace?
Yes
No
Jean-Philippe Mateta
Mateta has only scored three goals in all competitions and has also claimed one assist in his 16 outings up to this point in the season. However, it should be mentioned that two of Edouard’s goals have come from the penalty spot.
While he may not shoot as much as the former Celtic man, the 24-year-old does hit the target more frequently. Indeed, as per FBRef, he shoots with nearly 10% more accuracy this season.
He is also a marginally better dribbler, though doesn’t carry the ball as far as Edouard. He also wins far more aerial duels, with 2.59 per game – which is nearly half what he goes up for – compared to the 1.72 (34%) won by his teammate.
TIF Verdict…
With both men now at the same club and aged 24, it seems fair to also compare their stats across their whole club careers. In a pure attacking sense, Edouard is the better goalscorer with 0.65 goals per game, compared to 0.53 – while he also averages more assists.
Taking everything into account, it’s fair to say if Vieira is looking for goals, he is probably better off with Edouard.
However, at Palace, the manager may feel Mateta is better suited for his style. Regardless, the two still have plenty to prove if they are to become Premier League stars, but TIF would suggest Edouard’s the man to go for.
In other news: Crystal Palace drop jaw-dropping Zaha training footage