Brentford and Crystal Palace have shared the points on each of their last four Premier League meetings.

With the two sides so evenly matched, Edmund Brack, Crystal Palace reporter for South London Press, believes that the creative spark provided by Eberechi Eze could prove the difference at Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday.

Eze registered 14 goal contributions last term in an advanced midfield role.

How did the summer pan out for Crystal Palace?

Slightly underwhelming is how I would describe Crystal Palace’s summer. A lot of their plans hinged on trying to keep hold of Wilfred Zaha and, in fairness to the club, they probably did everything they could, which included offering him a club-record four-year contract to stay.

Once that failed and he decided to join Galatasaray, it was a bit of a scramble to see where they were going to be at the start of the season.

They have switched to this model where they try to emulate Brentford and Brighton in signing exciting players who could attract interest from higher up, but a lot of the summer was based around trying to keep hold of their best players.

There has been interest in Marc Guehi, Joachim Andersen, Cheick Doucoure and Michael Olise, who are reportedly wanted by the top clubs in the Premier League, so you do wonder what the team will look like at the end of the transfer window.

Roy Hodgson achieved some great stuff last season and, in those last 10 games, Palace played some of the best football I have seen them play in a long time.

Hodgson really got the best out of Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise, and that was without Zaha, who was injured for some of that period.

When Hodgson was re-appointed and stated that Palace were going to go for a top-10 finish, there was a sense of excitement about what the club could do. So far, it hasn’t quite come off, but there is still time left to supplement the squad with what is needed for this campaign.

As you mentioned, Roy Hodgson - the Premier League’s oldest manager of all time - has signed on for one more season at Selhurst Park. What was the fan reaction to that news?

I do not think you could argue with it whatsoever. Look at the way he got the best out of Eze; he helped him become an England international and Eze himself even said he would not be here without Hodgson.

He is getting the best out of the Palace players, even someone like Joel Ward - a 33-year-old gallivanting up and down the right-hand touchline.

The players seem happy again. Towards the end of Patrick Vieira’s reign, it felt like the club had lost a bit of oomph, that special personality they had had under him. Hodgson has come in and galvanised the whole squad with some really good football that secured survival.

Another contract was the best option for all parties. Palace probably did not see another option out there who was best suited to taking the football club forward in the long term.

Matheus Franca has been brought in as Zaha’s long-term replacement, but how big a loss will the latter prove to be this season?

It is immeasurable. You cannot define how much of a loss Zaha will be to Palace; it is like they have lost a part of their identity.

Especially in the Premier League, because it is the first time in nine years or so that they will have to mastermind survival without him. It has been done once - and that was under Tony Pulis when they first came up.

It was a shock to see him go, but you cannot deny the fact he is going to play Champions League football and that is all he has ever wanted in his career.

He is the best footballer I personally have seen live and the best I am sure a lot of Palace fans will have seen live, too.

A lot of fans of my generation will have been brought up on Zaha’s style of counter-attacking play and fearlessness in driving at defenders. It has been an emotional time for the club.

Which player should Brentford fans keep an eye on?

It is a tough one because I do not know who is going to be at the club by the time of the game!

Eze will have to be the main man going forward now. It seems obvious but, in terms of what he did last year under Hodgson for those final 10 games, he deserved to become an England international with the performances he was putting in.

If Palace are to get that oomph and vigour back in their attacking play, he is the one who is going to lock it all together.

During pre-season, he looked even better than he did towards the end of the last campaign, which is scary when you think about it.

He looks like he has grown in stature from that England camp and grown in maturity, which I did not even know was possible for him.

How is Hodgson likely to set up his side?

It will likely be 4-4-1-1 out of possession and 4-2-3-1 in possession.

They brought in Jefferson Lerma over the summer; his defensive abilities look really good and it looks like he can break up the play really well. He will have Doucoure alongside him, whose short passing game is excellent.

Olise might be back by then and, if he is, he will be on the wings, cutting it in for Eze in the centre.

I do not think Franca will be back for this game, so it will be a similar team to the one they fielded towards the end of the last campaign.

All four of the Premier League meetings to date have been tight affairs. What’s your score prediction for this one?

There are never too many goals in this one, are there? I’m going to go for 1-1.