Crystal Palace v Tottenham – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Crystal Palace will host Tottenham on Sunday. The hosts are winless this season and have lost three matches in a row, while Spurs have won six of their last seven matches across all competitions. Tottenham has won their last five encounters with Palace.

Crystal Palace Form

Palace won six of their last seven matches of the previous season, but this season has been a disaster so far. After a late 2-1 loss at Brentford, they suffered a 2-0 home defeat to West Ham. A 1-1 draw at Chelsea in the league was followed by a 2-2 home draw against Leicester, after being 2-0 up.

A 0-0 home stalemate against Man Utd saw their opponents miss five big chances. Three consecutive defeats followed: a 2-1 loss at Everton, a 1-0 home loss to Liverpool, and a 1-0 away defeat to Nottingham Forest. Although both sides had 20 shots, Forest created clearer opportunities and were deserving winners.

Crystal Palace Team News

Coach Oliver Glasner remains without Chadi Riad, Rob Holding, and Chris Richards in defense, so Trevoh Chalobah could start again. Cheick Doucoure is nearing a return from injury, but this match may come too soon.

In attack, Matheus Franca is unavailable. Glasner will need to decide whether to recall Jean-Philippe Mateta and partner him with Eddie Nketiah or to bench Nketiah.

Crystal Palace Motivation

This Palace team is desperate for points and would likely be content with a draw to build on. Glasner’s side may drop into a back five to limit space for Spurs’ quick attack.

Tottenham Form

Spurs have won seven of their last eight matches. They recorded a 3-1 home win against Brentford, followed by a 3-0 home win over Qarabag despite playing 83 minutes with ten men. An impressive 3-0 away win at Man Utd included a 4.59 xG and nine big chances created.

After a 2-1 away win at Ferencvaros, Spurs suffered a 3-2 defeat at Brighton, collapsing after a 2-0 half-time lead. Last weekend, four goals in 25 minutes saw Tottenham beat West Ham 4-1, followed by a 1-0 home win over AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League on Thursday night.

Tottenham Team News

Heung-Min Son is doubtful for this match due to muscle fatigue but is expected to start. Djed Spence is the only other injury concern.

Spurs rotated their squad significantly, with only Destiny Udogie, James Maddison, and Rodrigo Bentancur expected to play again in this match.

Tottenham Motivation

Ange Postecoglou’s side is expected to be fresh and determined to secure all three points. They won’t settle for a draw at any stage. If Palace sits back, Tottenham might face challenges in breaking them down.

Key Stats

Crystal Palace are winless in the league this season (5 losses, 3 draws).

Crystal Palace’s last four matches have seen three losses and only one goal scored.

Tottenham have won seven of their last eight matches, scoring 20 goals.

Spurs have won their last five matches against Crystal Palace (13-2 aggregate).

Tottenham’s Brennan Johnson has scored six goals in his last eight matches.

Verdict

Palace are desperate and could cause some problems for Spurs. However, the visitors should have enough quality to secure the three points.

Best Bet: Tottenham win at 1.80

Value Bet: Tottenham win and Over 2.5 goals at 2.45

Goalscorer Tip: Brennan Johnson to score anytime at 2.90