[ad_pod ]

As of their 3-2 defeat at the hands of West Ham on Saturday, Crystal Palace have now recorded just one win in their last 11 Premier League games and this poor run has ensured that, once again, the second half of the season is going to be a hard-fought battle to remain in the top flight - the Eagles currently sit just two points above the drop.

Felipe Anderson is truly starting to justify his price tag now as his long-range, curling effort proved decisive but, while the Brazilian stepped up to the plate and delivered for his manager, there was one man on the pitch in particular who failed to produce when his side needed him most.

Wilfried Zaha is the kind of player that can be both a blessing and a curse for Crystal Palace - on his day, there are few defenders in the league who can stop the Ivorian in full-flight but, when he is off the boil, as was the case against West Ham at the weekend, he oozes a negativity that undoubtedly rubs off on teammates who would usually look to him to drag them out of a tough spot.

Feared for his bamboozling feet and bags of pace, the 26-year-old surely had a point to prove after his side's apathetic showing in the 3-1 loss to bitter rivals Brighton at the Amex earlier in the week, but showed no such desire as he was more or less pocketed by a 33-year-old Pablo Zabaleta throughout proceedings.

The former Manchester United man has been mostly deployed as an unorthodox striker in the absence of a goalscorer this season but, while it doesn't take a genius to see that he is far more effective out wide, his 90 minutes at the London Stadium should prove to Roy Hodgson that he is truly wasting his most dangerous asset.

Wilfried Zaha v West Ham

Completing just 69% of his attempted passes, the number 11 struggled to link up with his teammates and was therefore detrimental to creation in a system where neat and tidy link-up play is so important - this was also only the fourth time this season that the 8-cap international completed zero key passes in a game.

The speedster did, however, complete three dribbles - commendable numbers, especially on an off day, but was unable to give Lukasz Fabianski or his defence much to worry about as he took on just one shot.

Despite struggling to get on the scoresheet in recent weeks, Zaha can usually depend on his close control being exquisite, however he took three unsuccessful touches against the Hammers as he struggled to hold onto the ball in the manner which he usually would so effortlessly.

Palace look lost when their talismanic winger isn't performing and if someone else doesn't grab a hold of the game in his stead, they will surely continue in this exhausting vein - Hodgson must find a way to win without the Selhurst Park hero, and fast, as he is suspended for the upcoming Leicester clash after picking up his fifth yellow card.