With the Premier League throwing out surprises left, right and centre, it is little surprise to see Crystal Palace in eighth place and above giants Liverpool and Chelsea.
Among the ruck are Stoke, West Ham and of course Leicester, who are currently chasing the Premier League title in a battle with Manchester City and Arsenal.
While Palace’s performance this year has earned them 31 points so far, the London club did suffer a very heavy 4-0 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad at the weekend.
The Eagles have ended their last two seasons in England’s top flight 11th and 10th, slowly improving their end result. Could the side improve again this year?
Alan Pardew and his Palace side have recorded three losses in their past three games against City, a struggling Aston Villa and Chelsea. Before that, the team had not lost in six games, even thumping Newcastle United 5-1 at home.
Tottenham Hotspur are on a similar journey under Argentine boss Mauricio Pochettino, aiming for Champions League football next year. The pair will face each other at the home of Palace on Saturday, with Pardew’s men looking to improve on their recent run of form.
Spurs will enter with the upper hand after a confident display against Sunderland and key man Christian Eriksen in form in midfield. Unlike Crystal Palace who progressed safely through to the next round of the FA Cup after beating Southampton 2-1 at St Mary’s, Tottenham have to face Leicester in a replay on Wednesday night at the King Power Stadium.
This extra match may be a little bit of a strain before the game at the weekend, especially as Spurs will not really be able to rest any players against a team like Leicester, having lost to the Foxes 1-0 when the Lilywhites faced them in the Premier League recently.
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Spurs are not currently missing many key men from their squad, though Kyle Walker was out against Sunderland at the weekend, so some conjecture surrounds his possible return to the starting lineup. Ryan Mason is also still out after picking up an ankle injury back in November. Clinton N’jie is also sidelined after having surgery on his medial collateral ligament and will most likely not feature for some time.
Crystal Palace are without midfielder James McArthur after picking up a niggling injury against City; the club will observe and evaluate his progress before the game. If unfit, it will be a blow for Palace. However, a boost for the team is Dwight Gayle’s return to training during the week following the 26-year-old striker’s lengthy absence with a hamstring injury, since December. Gayle has been the club’s top scorer for the past two seasons with eight and 10 goals respectively. Connor Wickham also returned against City; can this squad push the team forward?
Spurs hold the best defensive record this season so it will be a tough ask for Palace. The pairing of Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld has worked wonders this season and the two have been extremely solid at the back. The Belgian pairing has conceded only 18 goals this season in 22 games, less than any other side.
However, Tottenham are arguably The Eagles’ most difficult opponent in their next three games, with other challenges consisting of Bournemouth and struggling Swansea. With the Cherries hailing an impressive win against Norwich though, Palace may have more work on their hands than originally planned.
If Alan Pardew’s men fail to get back to winning ways against Tottenham, they should have more of a chance in their next two fixtures to boost their points tally and secure a decent position. What the team needs is a solid winning streak after losing their last few games.
The last time Crystal Palace met Tottenham was back in September. Spurs narrowly scraped a win through a Son Heung-min goal in the 68th minute.
It was also Pochettino and his team’s first home win of the season. If Tottenham are not finishing their chances, Crystal Palace have an opportunity to cause an upset and cement their place as a top 10 team.
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