Is Wilfried Zaha underrated? Here’s what the stats say

Crystal Palace have started the season well and Wilfried Zaha has been one of the standout players in the Premier League so far.

We’ve taken a look into the stats from Zaha’s recent seasons and explored whether or not he is underrated. 

 

2020/21 season 

Roy Hodgson’s final season at Crystal Palace saw a return to form of Wilfried Zaha, who had only scored four goals in the previous season. 

Palace mostly lined up in a 4-4-2 formation this season with Zaha and Christian Benteke leading the line. 

In 30 appearances he managed to score 11 goals and chip in with two assists throughout the season. 

In total, he averaged a goal contribution every 201 minutes, which was a vast improvement from his previous season. 

In the 19/20 campaign, Zaha averaged a goal contribution every 468 minutes as he struggled for consistency in front of goal. 

Hodgson adapted his role in the following season though and Zaha hasn’t looked back since. 

In the 20/21 campaign, he averaged two shots per game and he overperformed his xG by 3.5 goals. 

 

2021/22 season 

During Patrick Viera’s first season with the club, Zaha’s role in the side changed once again. 

Palace mostly lined up in a 4-3-3 formation, which usually saw Zaha playing on the left and reverting to his previous position. 

There was clearly a game plan put in place to get Zaha on the ball as much as possible as 41% of Palace’s attacks came from the left-hand side this season. 

This was a season where Palace also became more attack minded as they scored eight more goals from open play than they had in the previous season. 

Palace also went from taking 9.2 shots per game to 10.8 in the space of just one season. 

Viera’s new attacking style was well suited to Zaha’s game as he went on to score 14 goals this season which was his best ever Premier League return. 

The winger averaged a goal contribution every 184 minutes and he took 2.1 shots per game, which was a slight increase from the previous season. 

Zaha was the fourth biggest xG overperformer in the Premier League last season with an overperformance of 4.6 goals. 

As he adapted to his role on the left-hand side, Zaha’s creative numbers also picked up. 

Despite only registering one assist throughout the season, he averaged 1.4 key passes and completed 2.3 successful dribbles per game. 

 

2022/23 season 

This season has seen Zaha pick up from where he left off last season. 

Across Palace’s opening three Premier League matches, Zaha has scored three goals with a brace against Aston Villa and an impressive strike against Liverpool. 

His run and impressive finish against Liverpool highlights just how much Zaha has refined his game over the past few seasons. 

His composure in front of goal has undoubtedly improved, which is shown by how he now regularly overperforms his xG. 

So far this season Zaha has overperformed his xG by 0.9 goals, which is the most in the Crystal Palace squad.  

On paper, Palace have had a fairly tough start to the season as they have already faced the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool. 

Things don’t ease up for them this week either as they face a tough trip to Manchester City, but they have already shown they are good enough to mix with the top teams. 

Zaha has played in 15 games against Manchester City throughout his career and he has scored one goal and got one assist against them. 

This weekend will prove to be a test for Patrick Vieira’s side, but it will be a good indication to see where his team is currently at. 

Given how Zaha has started the season, he is on course for one of his best campaigns yet and he definitely ranks amongst the best attackers in the league.