Crystal Palace vs Brighton: Michael Olise ready to step up in post-Wilfried Zaha era | OneFootball

Dom Smith

At Selhurst Park on Thursday evening, Crystal Palace face their fiercest rivals Brighton for the first time since the departure of Wilfried Zaha.

This was a fixture in which Zaha more often than not delivered for Palace, scoring eight goals in 15 games against their rivals as the talisman of the team.

The Eagles need someone new to take this match by the scruff of the neck — and Palace boss Roy Hodgson may only need to look back to last weekend for inspiration.

Michael Olise was calmness personified as he slotted a 95th-minute penalty past Ederson to earn Palace a point against Manchester City at the Etihad — and the winger has been slowly working his way back to his dazzling best in recent weeks, after an injury-disrupted start to the season.

Ice cold: Olise scored a late penalty against Manchester City

AP

Since scoring a stunning goal against Luton last month, he has shown flashes of his brilliance but also had spells in games where he has struggled to make an impact. Eberechi Eze could return to the Palace team, after a late appearance from the bench at City following three weeks out with an ankle injury — but the onus will be on Olise to step up.

Roberto De Zerbi's Brighton are expected to dominate possession at Selhurst Park, with Palace's threat likely to stem from counter-attacks.

To that end, Hodgson can take heart from the swift breakaway move that allowed Jean-Philippe Mateta to begin the comeback against City.

Premier League wins have dried up for Brighton recently — their Europa League campaign perhaps catching up with them — but Palace are winless since November 4 and have lost four homes League games on the bounce.

Odsonne Edouard is one of seven Palace players out injured, and chairman Steve Parish knows the squad must be strengthened in January.

The position most in need of reinforcements is central midfield, where Cheick Doucoure is out for the season with a snapped Achilles and Jefferson Lerma has a hamstring injury.

David Ozoh, an 18-year-old academy graduate, impressed in the 2-2 draw at the Etihad and Will Hughes and Jeffrey Schlupp are decent squad players, but a marquee signing is critical.

That area could be exposed tonight if the likes of Pascal Gross, Adam Lallana and Carlos Baleba are allowed to dominate midfield and dictate the tempo of the match.

"Everyone knows that Palace-Brighton is a big game, and it's one where we've got to step up and make certain that we give our best performance", Hodgson said. "Brighton are a really good team, they proved that last season when they got into Europe. This season, they've carried on, perhaps even improved.

"We embrace it [the rivalry], we understand it and we accept how important it is, and we take on the extra responsibility that the fixture against Brighton always brings. The players are very much aware, even the ones who have come into the club at a later date."