Tottenham Hotspur welcome Crystal Palace to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in Super Sunday Night Football.
Should Liverpool lose on Sunday afternoon, victory would lift Tottenham up to fifth before West Ham play on Monday evening.
Palace meanwhile can go 11th with a win until Leeds play on Monday evening.
Team News
Serge Aurier is a doubt for Tottenham after missing Thursday’s win at Fulham with a calf injury.
Giovani Lo Celso (thigh injury) is nearing a return, although Jose Mourinho won’t risk him until fully fit.
Palace could welcome Wilfried Zaha back from a muscle injury which kept him out of their last five matches.
James McCarthy (groin), Nathaniel Clyne, James McArthur, Tyrick Mitchell (all muscle), Jeffrey Schlupp (hamstring), Wayne Hennessey, Mamadou Sakho, Nathan Ferguson (all thigh) and James Tomkins (eye) however are all still absent.
Stat Attack
- Tottenham are unbeaten in their last five league meetings against Crystal Palace (W3, D2).
- Palace have lost both trips to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium without scoring (L2).
- There has never been three straight draws in this top-flight fixture although Spurs and Palace contested three straight draws between December 1977 – March 1980 across top two divisions.
- One of Spurs’ last seven home league goals have come from a midfielder – Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
- Palace haven’t drawn three consecutive goalless league fixtures since February-March 1996 when they went four matches without scoring nor conceding in the then First Division.
Prediction
Tottenham will be relieved to enter this match with two consecutive wins and clean sheets even though their victory at Fulham wasn’t pretty, having had to rely on a lucky defensive error to get the win because they just lacked end product and were often outran in defence by Fulham.
Palace meanwhile come here off the back of two goalless draws through organised defending but too lacked that end product when they got opportunities on goal, although they did manage to handle the foggy conditions against Manchester United well on Wednesday.
I am therefore expecting a good game here but this feels like a match where it is Tottenham’s to lose which I don’t see happening.
Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Crystal Palace
Result: Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 Crystal Palace
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