The Premier League returns this weekend after taking a week off for the FA Cup last week, and with the transfer window now shut we can start looking at the race for the title, the top four and a relegation battle. The two players we’re focusing on here, though, will be firmly involved in the latter as we compare Zaha and Mitrovic.
Wilfried Zaha is commonly viewed as one of the best players in the Premier League outside of the top six clubs, whilst Aleksandar Mitrovic is a ruthless goal-getter who has proven that when he plays he delivers. For today’s clash between Palace and Fulham, Zaha is unavailable due to suspension, yet we’ll be comparing the two to see who’s more likely to keep their side up this season.
ALEKSANDAR MITROVIC
Mitrovic is exactly what you expect him to be. The Serbian striker is an aggressive centre-forward who gives as good as he gets. Whilst Fulham may have become one of the Premier League’s whipping boys so far this season, there isn’s a central defender in the country who looks forward to playing against the ex-Newcastle man on a Saturday afternoon.
This season has seen Fulham’s star man bag ten times as he’s featured in every single game for the Cottagers in the Premier League. The only worry with the Serbian is that he often loses his head, and when the red mist comes down there’s no telling what he’ll do. At the age of just 24 he’s accumulated five red cards across his career, and whilst he’s yet to do so for Fulham, it’s still a worrying record.
TT GRADE: B
WILFRIED ZAHA
If you want to see goals, assists, flair and trickery but don’t want to watch the top six sides in the Premier League, Selhurst Park is the place to be. Wilfried Zaha has built a reputation for scoring goals and dazzling the East London crowd that get drawn in to watch the Eagles. Palace are currently enjoying their longest ever spell in the Premier League and it’s all because of Zaha’s brilliance.
The Ivorian has spent time away from the club before he ultimately he always comes back. At the age of 26 he’s approaching his prime years, and whilst he may have received a pathetic, yet deserved, red card for sarcastically clapping referee Andre Marriner against Southampton, he is still the man who Roy Hodgson will be looking to keep his side in the Premier League.
TT GRADE: A+
TT VERDICT:
Mitrovic may be a goalscorer who can put the ball in the net at the crucial moments, but Zaha is so much more than that. When Palace have the Ivorian fit they’re a different entity altogether and his pace, technique and power help him to produce goals, assists and magic moments means he simply has to win this one as his influence for Palace is much greater than Mitrovic’s to Fulham.
