View: Darnell Furlong is the key to contain Wilfried Zaha in West Brom v Crystal Palace
Darnell Furlong faces one of the biggest tests of his credentials as he prepares for the herculean task of containing Wilfried Zaha in West Brom v Crystal Palace.
The 25-year-old has shown a more resilient side to his game of late but he will have his work cut out against the Ivory Coast international.
Zaha made his return from injury after a five-game absence last Sunday, coming on as a half-time substitute in Palace’s 4-1 thrashing at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
He immediately set about putting himself in the thick of the action but events did not transpire as he or manager Roy Hodgson hoped.
His introduction failed to inspire the Eagles as they disintegrated from a 1-1 score at half-time and Zaha was partly culpable for this as he completed just two of his seven attempted passes [29%] and won just 38% of his duels, per Wyscout.
However, in spite of any issues he faces there is always one element of his game that you have to guard against – his dribbling.
Against Spurs Zaha posted an 83% success rate, completing five of his six attempts to record his second-highest figure of the season.
That was also much higher than his 50.6% season average and he won 50% of his offensive duels, an upsurge on his 37.6% average.
Marking Zaha is always a tough task for any defender but perhaps Albion have just the man to tackle him.
Darnell Furlong has had a mixed season on the right-hand side of defence and suffered his biggest humiliation yet in February when he was benched for 34-year-old Lee Peltier v Spurs.
But he has come roaring back to the side and is showing some of his best form in an Albion shirt.
His pace and athleticism could come be handy in a West Brom team that is lacking in this area.
According to WhoScored, Furlong is dribbled past 0.7 times per game and this is a pretty low score which puts him outside the top 125.
It is the same number as the likes of Liverpool’s Andrew Robertson who is routinely regarded as one of the best full-backs in Europe, and Leicester City’s summer signing sensation Wesley Fofana who has ripped up the Premier League in central defence for the Foxes.
Furlong has shown a huge defensive improvement of late, winning 75% and 78% [Wyscout] of his defensive duels against Newcastle United and Everton, respectively, much higher than his 57.3% average for the season.
He will need to match these sort of figures to contain Zaha who will be hunting for revenge after last week’s disappointment.
Zaha will be a wounded animal and he is likely to be desperate to get back on the goal trail after not scoring since January 26, in part due to injury.
He usually starts central but has a tendency to drift wide to the left so Furlong will have to be on his guard all match to thwart his efforts.
That could be key to deciding the game on Saturday.
In other West Brom news, see our predicted XI for the crunch clash v Crystal Palace.
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