Crystal Palace Premier League 2023/24 season preview

James Wilson Updated: 21 Sep 23 12:14 Published: 19 Jul 23 11:01

Crystal Palace will be hoping to pick up from where they left off in the new Premier League season under Roy Hodgson after enjoying an impressive end to last term under the 75-year-old veteran.

Manager: Roy Hodgson
Stadium: Selhurst Park
Captain: TBC
Top League Scorer last season: Eberechi Eze (10)
Last season's finish: 11th

Crystal Palace 2023/24 odds

To Finish in Top Half - 9/4
To Finish in Bottom Half - 1/3
Not to be Relegated - 1/12
To be Relegated - 7/1
To Finish Bottom - 20/1

Crystal Palace's 2022/23 performance

Crystal Palace appeared in relegation danger when the club decided to part ways with Patrick Vieira following a run of 11 Premier League matches without a win in March, before the return of former manager Roy Hodgson prompted a marked upturn in fortunes.

Having managed the club for four years between 2017 and 2021, the installation of Hodgson restored a sense of stability and calm at Selhurst Park, with the Eagles proceeding to lose just two of their final 10 league matches of the season with the former England boss at the helm.

Hodgson was able to take the shackles off of Palace's most gifted creative talents, most notably Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise, with the South London side registering 18 goals in these last 10 games of the campaign.

This outstanding end to the season saw Palace finish 11th in the table, remarkably one place above London rivals Chelsea, and 11 points clear of the relegation zone.

Crystal Palace 2023/24 prospects

The way Palace ended last season will have given the club's passionate fanbase hope of kicking on in the new campaign, and potentially challenging for a top-half finish in the Premier League for just the second time in 11 seasons, but their first goal will be avoiding relegation danger which they flirted with during last term.

Boasting a strong spine - with Sam Johnstone in goal, the formidable Joachim Andersen and Marc Guehi at centre-back, new recruit Jefferson Lerma and the impressive Cheick Doucoure in midfield, and the outstanding Eberechi Eze occupying the number 10 position, it's perhaps a reliable goalscorer up front which is limiting this Palace squad's potential.

It's certainly a group brimming with talent, who if managed correctly and not hampered by injuries should be too good to face the kind of relegation concerns which spelled the end of Patrick Vieira's tenure in March.

Palace's expectations for the new campaign will also hinge heavily on the future of Wilfried Zaha, with the talismanic figure weighing up his options after his contract expired this summer following eight years of service in his second spell at Selhurst Park.

The 30-year-old may still opt to put pen to paper on a new deal at Palace, and another year of the Ivorian linking up with fellow creative talents Eze and Olise in the Premier League is a potentially tantalising prospect.

Crystal Palace manager - Roy Hodgson

Now the oldest manager in Premier League history by some distance at 75, Roy Hodgson signed a one-year-deal this summer after steering Palace to Premier League distance in style after taking over on an interim basis in March.

Typically characterised as somewhat of a pragmatic coach, with a wealth of experience managing across four decades in countries all over Europe, Hodgson was able to get the best out of Palace's star attacking players - Eze and Olise - who registered 13 goal contributions between them in the final 10 games of last season.

The former Inter and Liverpool manager has clearly acknowledged the technical brilliance of Palace's attacking midfielders as being a key strength of the squad at his disposal, and that filling them with confidence and playing to their strengths is imperative to the team's overall success.

Although the appointment of Hodgson this summer is hardly forward-thinking, it offers Palace a secure stop-gap with the club's hierarchy led by chairman Steve Parish provided time to ponder a long-term successor in line with their vision and goals.

Crystal Palace Key Player - Eberechi Eze

Becoming the key cornerstone of the Crystal Palace side following the arrival of Hodgson last term, ending the season as one of the Premier League's most in-form players, 25-year-old Eberechi Eze will be hoping to carry this momentum into the new campaign.

Eze's performances at the back end of last season were so impressive that they prompted international recognition, with England manager Gareth Southgate handing the former QPR man his Three Lions debut in a Euros qualifier against Malta in June.

An attacking midfielder with an abundance of skill and masterful vision, Eze has become the centre-point of this Crystal Palace side in a number 10 position, arguably becoming even more influential than Wilfried Zaha who has been the main man at Selhurst Park for several years.

Registering 14 goal contributions in the Premier League last term - 10 goals and four assists - Eze will be striving to build on these numbers in order to ensure he is part of the travelling party for England at the Euros finals in Germany next summer.

Crystal Palace One to Watch - Cheick Doucoure

Arriving from Lens last summer with a sizeable £22m price tag and big expectations, Cheick Doucoure could be argued to have largely gone under the radar last term despite scooping Palace's Player of the Season award - voted by the club's supporters - in his maiden Premier League campaign.

A defensive midfielder, the 23-year-old Mali international is an all-action performer who seems perfectly suited to Premier League football, with his ball-winning ability and reading of the game providing Palace's dangerous attacking stars freedom to focus on creating and scoring goals.

With a year's experience behind him in his new surroundings, this could be the season where Doucoure's reputation starts to truly take off in the Premier League, with reports suggesting that Liverpool are already eyeing up the battling midfielder.