Chasing a second London derby win in the space of two weeks, a revitalised Tottenham Hotspur meet lowly Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in Sunday’s Premier League contest.
The Lilywhites got the better of AZ Alkmaar by a goal to nil in the Europa League in midweek, while Oliver Glasner‘s meek men lost by the same scoreline at Nottingham Forest on Monday.
Match preview
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Well on their way to a guaranteed last-16 place in the Europa League, Tottenham made it three for three in the continental competition on Thursday evening, when AZ Alkmaar left North London empty-handed thanks to Richarlison‘s confident second-half penalty.
Spurs could and probably should have marched to victory by a greater margin, only to be let down by their own wastefulness, but that was not the case when they hit local rivals West Ham United for four in Premier League gameweek eight, coming from a goal down to hammer the Hammers.
Firmly in European contention amid a mixed start to proceedings in 2024-25, Spurs enter the weekend seventh in the Premier League table and just four points shy of the Champions League places, although they are only three points better off than Brentford in 13th spot.
As much as Ange Postecoglou has been heralded for bringing entertaining football back to North London, the Australian has never mastered the art of Premier League away games, as Spurs head to Crystal Palace having won just four of their last 17 top-flight matches on their travels.
However, Tottenham have notched multiple goals in each of their last four away matches in all tournaments, hardly a surprise when taking a peek at their attacking statistics; 145 shots and 55 shots on target are the second-best records of their kind in the Premier League behind Manchester City.
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A side who could do with taking a leaf out of Tottenham’s attacking book, Crystal Palace should have sensed an opportunity to finally end their Premier League hoodoo on Monday evening, where they squared up to a Forest side without the suspended Morgan Gibbs-White or James Ward-Prowse.
Alas, the Eagles were found wanting in the final third again, and a solitary goal from Chris Wood was all it took to subject Crystal Palace to their third defeat on the spin, one that leaves them still searching for that elusive first top-flight win of the campaign.
A far cry from the scintillating attacking unit at the back end of the 2023-24 season, Palace have plummeted into 18th place in the standings and are one of four teams still without a single English top-flight win this term, the others being Southampton, Ipswich Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The hosts can only take minimal comfort from the fact that two of their three points this season have been won at Selhurst Park, as they have failed to score in three of their four Premier League home matches in 2024-25, and just two goals in front of their own fans is the worst home attacking record in the division.
The history books also make for grim reading for those of a Palace persuasion, as the Eagles have been beaten in each of their last five matches against Tottenham, who followed up a 2-1 win at Selhurst Park with a 3-1 home victory last term.
Crystal Palace Premier League form:
Crystal Palace form (all competitions):
Tottenham Hotspur Premier League form:
Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions):
Team News
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Spurs’ ruthlessness against AZ suffered in the absence of captain Son Heung-min, who was rested in midweek due to being “a bit sore” following the win over West Ham, which came just after he had battled back from a previous hamstring issue.
However, the 32-year-old should be back to strut his stuff in London derbies once more this weekend; Son has scored 27 goals and set up 12 more in previous capital clashes, and only four players in history boast more than his 39 direct involvements in PL London derbies.
Son’s expected return would leave Djed Spence (groin) as the visitors’ only missing player, and plenty of changes are afoot; James Maddison and Destiny Udogie are the only starters from midweek who should hold their places.
Palace are not so fortunate on the fitness front, as Chadi Riad (knee), Chris Richards (thigh) and Matheus Franca (groin) are all out of contention, and the visit of Spurs should also come too soon for ankle victim Cheick Doucoure to return.
Ex-Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Turner will at least be back in the squad after being unable to face parent club Forest, but the USA international should take his usual seat on the bench, even if Dean Henderson should have done better for Wood’s winner.
Speaking of erstwhile Gunners, Eddie Nketiah – if he plays – will have a barren run to end on Sunday; the Palace number nine has gone nearly a year without finding the net in the Premier League since his hat-trick against Sheffield United in October 2023.
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Henderson; Lacroix, Chalobah, Guehi; Munoz, Wharton, Lerma, Mitchell; Kamada, Nketiah, Eze
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Kulusevski, Bissouma, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Son
Tottenham may have struggled to find their attacking bite against AZ, but Postecoglou did put out a second-string team, and his well-rested big hitters should have no problem teaching a profligate Palace a footballing lesson.
With Jean-Philippe Mateta losing his touch, Eberechi Eze struggling for form and Michael Olise long gone, Glasner’s men just have not found a Plan B in the final third, and their wait for a win will surely go on.
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