Crystal Palace vs Tottenham – Preview, Lineups, Score Prediction
Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
Fixture: Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur
Competition: Premier League
Kick-off: 28th December, 16:30 UK time
Crystal Palace welcome Tottenham Hotspur to Selhurst Park with two despondent teams entering the fray, coming off the back of a week of unfavourable results.
The Eagles began with a defeat to Manchester City before drawing against KuPS with a much changed line-up in the Conference League. The rotation came to nothing though, as the players they tried to keep fresh imploded against Leeds United, before suffering elimination from the EFL Cup on penalties at the hands of Arsenal.
Palace, against Leeds and Manchester City, conceded the most and joint-second most goals they have for this season, with a familiar defensive strength turning into a frailty. Against Leeds, Palace conceded four times from set pieces, with the Whites taking advantage of the full complement of their repertoire of long throws, corners and free kicks despite having an open play xG of 0.14.
Tottenham Hotspur followed up an embarrassing 3-0 away defeat to Nottingham Forest, with an abject home defeat to an out-of-sorts Liverpool. Spurs somehow managed to look more jittery than a visiting Liverpool side on tenterhooks all game.
Those in white also seemed to have read the remit of leaving their all on the pitch as leaving a mark on their opponents, as the game witnessed a slew of rash challenges. For all their endeavour, Spurs finished with nine men, as reckless tackles earned Xavi Simons a straight red, and Cristian Romero a second yellow.
The lack of discipline saw journalist Alex Crook state that the players are not giving Thomas Frank ‘the respect he deserves’, as one former Spurs player insisted Frank ‘is not for Spurs’ while another former Premier League player suggested the Dane is struggling with the size of the club.
Oliver Glasner’s already stretched squad saw another casualty in Chris Richards, after the American international was stretchered off in the loss to Arsenal. Though Glasner said that the injury was not as bad as feared, Richards is a doubt for Sunday.
Frank will be without the suspended pair of Simons and Romero. The Dane has no fresh injury concerns, but long-term absentees Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski are still not close to a return.
Predicted Lineups
Recent Form (league)
Crystal Palace: LLWWL
Tottenham Hotspur: LLWDL
Key Men
Crystal Palace
Marc Guehi has created the most chances from defence, bar Reece James and Nico O’Reilly – five each, with four. Guehi looks certain to depart Selhurst Park in the new year, be it in January or the summer, and the Palace captain will want to leave the home support a parting gift over the festive period.
Maxence Lacroix was the pantomime villain on Tuesday evening against Arsenal as the centre-back scored an own goal before subsequently missing his spot kick, knocking Palace out.
Dean Henderson had a post-shot xG to goals conceded difference of 4.9 only a week ago, but it has decreased to 1.8 after the seven goals conceded against Manchester City and Leeds. Henderson will know that Palace’s strength is built from a strong defensive base and the England international will want to return to top form, especially after Walter Benitez’s strong showing against Arsenal.
Tottenham Hotspur
Mohammed Kudus, who was electric against Slavia Prague at home in the Champions League, has not scored or assisted in the Premier League over the past three weekends. Kudus and Frank will want a strong domestic showing soon.
Randal Kolo Muani proved a handful for Ibrahima Konate and might have proved more effective had Spurs been able to play with all eleven men against the Reds. Kolo Muani will be raring to go against a tired and injury hit Palace defence.
Kevin Danso is likely to be the replacement for Romero, and with Danso only afforded starts in an intermittent fashion, the Austrian will want to make the most of the opportunity.
Match Prediction
Glasner will have been pleased with how side withstood the barrage of long-throws and set-pieces, thanks in no small part to Walter Benitez, after saying that they ‘were bullied from set plays’ against Leeds.
With one fewer distraction to contend with, all his focus will be on the league, as Palace hope to finish in the European spots come the end of the season.
Glasner, who bemoaned that his lineup was predictable ahead of the Leeds fixture, will again have little room for rotation or to spring a surprise on his opponents, with the side pretty much picking itself, with Frank being the beneficiary this time around.
Crystal Palace have underperformed their xG while Spurs have outperformed their expected goals by almost ten goals with 26 goals scored from 16.14 xG. Palace though have a shot accuracy at 42.15 per cent, which is markedly higher than Tottenham’s 32.63 per cent.
The encounter could be a tight and cagey affair, with both sides likely to favour efficiency, especially with squad options running out.
A jaded Palace might still prove to have too much fight for Tottenham on the day, lifting the mood in south London once again.
Inside Futbol Score Prediction
Crystal Palace 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Where To Watch?
Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League will be live on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Ultra HDR for a 16:30 kick-off in the UK.
The post Crystal Palace vs Tottenham – Preview, Lineups, Score Prediction appeared first on Inside Futbol | Latest Football News, Transfer Rumours & Articles.