Crystal Palace: Patrick Vieira must unleash Eberechi Eze against Stoke City | OneFootball

Following on from their 1-1 draw against Burnley in their previous Premier League outing at the weekend, Crystal Palace are back in action at Selhurst Park this evening with an FA Cup clash against Championship club Stoke City.

On the chalkboard

In terms of which players Eagles manager Patrick Vieira could select to be in his starting XI to take on the Potters, one name that we feel should be in the team tonight that didn’t feature in the draw against Burnley is Eberechi Eze.

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After missing the start of the season through injury, the 23-year-old has only made six appearances in the Premier League, starting one of them and failing to score a goal or provide an assist.

The midfielder has, however, started both of the south London club’s previous FA Cup games against Millwall and Hartlepool United.

With that in mind, this could work in the Englishman’s favour for getting a place in the starting XI for this latest FA Cup clash.

If Vieira were to pick Eze to start and he manages to deliver a solid performance, potentially picking up his first goal or assist of the season, it could be just what he needs to get a consistent run of form under his belt to play more regularly in the league.

Described as a “great talent” by Steve McLaren in the past, the midfielder has racked up a total of 44 appearances for the club since arriving from Queens Park Rangers back in August 2020, scoring four goals and providing six assists along the way, showing the attacking and creative qualities he has in him in front of goal.

With that in mind, he could forge a scary duo in the final third with the swashbuckling Michael Olise.

Should Vieira start Eze tonight?

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He’s scored four goals and provided seven assists in 22 appearances across the Premier League and FA Cup, predominantly while playing on the right-hand side of the pitch. Thus, playing Eze on the left with him on the right could make a potentially deadly duo for the home side this evening.

Taking this into account, if the £18m-rated midfielder can show off his attacking talents tonight, he could cause some real problems for Stoke and terrify their defensive players, especially with the Potters having managed to concede eight goals in their past four league outings.