Tottenham Hotspur will be back to action after a long break, with a home Premier League game against Crystal Palace. Sitting five places above the relegation zone, Palace will seek to shock their fifth placed hosts. At 47 points going into this game, Spurs will seek to close the gap on fourth placed Aston Villa. With a game in hand, they can also take advantage of Manchester United’s slip, to open a six-point gap in fifth. So far, Ange Postecoglou’s side is holding on to a European slot but things haven't been great at the North London side. The last time out, they fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers. That was on 17th and one would expect they’ve had enough time to reflect on the defeat, going into a third straight home game. Spurs have been one of the most consistent scoring teams in the league this season. Their main problem however, is in defence; they have the poorest defence in the top six. From 25 league matches, Spurs’ defence has been breached 38 times. In their last eight league matches, they have no clean sheet, and conceded at least two in five of seven. The last time they kept a clean sheet in the league at home was in October. Since then, they’ve failed in nine straight home league games.
While Spurs enjoyed their break, Crystal Palace entered a new era and in resounding style. There is a new manager at Selhurst Park, and he was welcomed with a win. Oliver Glasner’s introduction after Roy Hodgson’s exit is now on a two-game unbeaten run. After conceding late to draw 1-1 with Everton, Palace did their homework well and returned to beat Burnley 3-0 last time. Jordan Ayew scored in both matches and will be looking to extend this good form here too. Ayew did score late in a 2-1 defeat in the reverse fixture and will hope to turn this in Palace’s favor. The Eagles have struggled in this fixture, losing five of the last six meetings. However, with their new found confidence, and Spurs’ recent struggles, you’d feel there’s a chance in it for the visitors. Like their hosts, Palace have been consistent in attack, scoring in each of their last five matches. However, they managed just one clean sheet in those five matches, posing the same struggles as Spurs. Their tally of 28 points thus far is just eight above the relegation zone so there’s still work to do. Part of this work will entail improvement on their away form, having won just once in 10 across all competitions.
This fixture rarely goes Crystal Palace’s way and yet they meet a well recuperated Tottenham Hotspur side. Spurs will not only be well rested, they also have key players in defence returning from injury. The hosts' form at home in the league has been great in recent matches as well, and this works in their favor here. Our prediction for Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace is for Tottenham Hotspur to win.