Looking to bounce back from a disappointing recent run, eighth placed Crystal Palace face another tough test at Selhurst Park when they face Tottenham on Saturday.
It has been five games since the Eagles have won a game in the league, most recently dominated by David Silva and Sergio Aguero in a very disappointing display against Manchester City where they lost 4-0. There will likely be changes to the setup to try and rectify some of the issues that have been costing the side points heading into this clash.
Currently sitting in fourth position, Spurs have only lost two out of the last eight games in the league and of the 10 matches away from home, they have lost just once all season. In contrast to Palace, Tottenham had a solid 4-1 win against Sunderland last time out, off the back of a Christian Eriksen double.
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Key Battle – Yohan Cabaye vs Dele Alli
This will be a battle of the box-to-box midfielders both of who will be trying to assert dominance to swing the game in their teams favour. So far this season both Yohan Cabaye and Dele Alli have scored five goals, however, the Tottenham midfielder provides more in terms of assists. Alli has set up three goals, compared to the one assist for the Frenchman.
Cabaye does put more work in over the final third, but given that the Frenchman is the main player in the side this is no real surprise. This area is where Alli can make a real difference, if he is able to close Cabaye down it will hamper Palace’s attacking momentum.
Given that the ex-PSG man has made the ninth most tackles of any midfielder in the game and Alli likes to work up and down the pitch, averaging 12.5 km each outing, this will be an intriguing battle to watch.
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Team News
Palace will head into the game having to make some changes due to injury and poor form. Alan Pardew will still be without key winger Yannick Bolasie for at least another week and after picking up a knock against Man City, Damien Delaney is under a cloud but should be able to play. Given the defensive frailties that have plagued Palace in the last few games. they may look to include Mile Jedinak to add some more strength in the midfield. With he poor performances of Wayne Hennessey two weeks in-a-row, there should also be a change between the posts.
The old adage that you do not mess with success should be applied for Tottenham given their good performance last time out and with no new injuries, there is no need for change.
Head-to-head
In the 31 previous top-flight meetings between the two sides, the Lilywhites have the advantage winning 15 games compared to the Eagles’ six, with 10 games ending in draws. Tottenham are also outscoring them by almost 20 goals in these matches, hitting the net 45 times and only conceding 27.
Previous Meeting
In the meeting earlier in the season at White Hart Lane, Tottenham were able to get the three points thanks to a goal from Heung-Min Son in a game where Spurs were clearly the better side.
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Prediction
The signs are pointing to a Spurs victory as Crystal Palace have failed to score in four of the previous five meetings with the North Londoners in the Premier League and the formidable away record that Tottenham are putting together this season.
Crystal Palace 0 Tottenham 2
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