A difficult wing-back decision awaits

Oliver Glasner has a big call to make at left wing-back ahead of Crystal Palace's trip to Fulham on Saturday.

Marco Silva's side are flying high and are just five points off the Champions League places in the Premier League table.

The Eagles suffered a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Everton last time out but there was one positive which may lead Glasner to make a change.

Tyrick Mitchell has been a solid and dependable defender for Crystal Palace since his debut in 2020.

He has been a mainstay of the Palace side since then and this is his fifth season as the Eagles first choice left back.

Glasner has spoken about how he would like Mitchell to attack more but acknowledged that his strength is in defending and that the 25-year-old is different to all out attacking wing-back Daniel Munoz on the other side.

Mitchell did not have his best game in the defeat to Everton and was replaced by Chelsea loanee Ben Chilwell.

The England international constantly looked to get forward after his introduction and had an effort saved by Jordan Pickford in the second half.

Chilwell is more inclined to run forward and attack but like Mitchell, Glasner pointed out the part of his game that he would like him to work on.

The Palace manager said he spoke to Chilwell about his defensive positioning after his debut in the FA Cup fourth round win over Doncaster.

Chilwell may be more suited to the attacking role he wants from his wing-backs but with Fulham full of confidence, it may well be that Mitchell's solidity will be more suited against a team that is in good form.

Either way, Glasner has a difficult call to make but he will be happy to have such options.