Tottenham host Crystal Palace this afternoon aiming to keep up with the Premier League’s top four, exclusively live on talkSPORT 2.
Spurs were beaten by Wolves last time out and need to bounce back to stay in touch with Aston Villa who sit five points ahead in fourth.
Ange Postecoglou’s side have a game in hand though, and a victory here would see them return to positive form.
They now take on Oliver Glasner’s Palace who beat Burnley 3-0 last weekend in the Austrian’s first game as boss.
Should the Eagles win again, Glasner would become only the second manager of the club to win their first two games in charge in the Premier League.
Tottenham vs Crystal Palace: Glasner’s scouting mission
Glasner was spotted at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier this month, before he even became Palace manager.
The 49-year-old attended Spurs’ defeat to Wolves with his assistant Michael Angerschmid and pictures of the pair went viral.
Commenting on the photo, one X user said: “Nice! Good bit of prep and scouting ahead of the upcoming game!”
Another messaged: “He’s here in the stands at Tottenham today. Palace play here at the start of March…”
And now that clash is here and we’ll find out if Glasner found out enough about his opponents to beat them this afternoon.
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- Crystal Palace have only won one of their last 17 Premier League games against Tottenham, a 3-0 win at Selhurst Park in September 2021 under Patrick Vieira.
- Tottenham are unbeaten in their last 11 Premier League home games against Crystal Palace (W9 D2) since a 0-1 defeat in November 1997. Spurs have won their last eight such meetings in a row by an aggregate score of 17-1.
Tottenham vs Crystal Palace: Team news
Tottenham Hotspur: Vicario, Emerson, Romero, van de Ven, Udogie, Bissouma, Bentancur, Kulusevski, Maddison, Werner, Son.
Subs: Skipp, Hojbjerg, Dragusin, Lo Celso, Johnson, Sarr, Davies, Austin, Scarlett.
Crystal Palace: Johnstone, Ward, Andersen, Richards, Munoz, Wharton, Lerma, Mitchell, Ayew, Eze, Mateta.
Subs: Tomkins, Matheus Franca, Clyne, Hughes, Edouard, Ahamada, Henderson, Plange, Ozoh.
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- Crystal Palace have won just one of their last 18 away London derby matches (D9 L8) and are winless in nine (D4 L5) since a 2-1 win at West Ham in November 2022.
- Spurs have lost two of their last three home London derbies in the Premier League, though did beat Brentford 3-2 in their last such match. They’ve not lost three London derby matches at home in the same campaign since 2004-05.
Tottenham vs Crystal Palace: What has been said?
Postecoglou believes that his side’s momentum has been disrupted by a lack of consistent games.
He said: “For a club like us who want to compete at the highest level, you need a strong squad and to have a strong squad you need consistent games and opportunities.
“At the moment, if we get an injury then we’re liable to throw somebody in who hasn’t played for four or five weeks.
“It’s not easy on that player. Whereas if you’ve got games there’s a natural rotation you need to make all the time and also gives you a bit of rhythm.
“I had the other extreme at Celtic [playing 60 games in 2021-22 and 53 last season]. I found that a lot easier to manage. If you ask me would I rather be in Europe? Absolutely, 1,000%. I’d rather be in Europe at this time playing games.”
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- With eight goals and two assists, Tottenham’s Son Heung-Min has been involved in 10 goals in 15 Premier League appearances against Crystal Palace. Only against Southampton (15) and Leicester (13) has he been involved in more.
- Jordan Ayew has been involved in 10 Premier League goals for Crystal Palace this season (4 goals, 6 assists) – only in 2019-20 has he had a hand in more (11 – 9 goals, 2 assists). The Ghanaian is looking to score in three consecutive appearances in the competition for the first time since June 2020.
Tottenham vs Crystal Palace: talkSPORT coverage
This Premier League clash will take place on Saturday, March 2.
Kick-off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is scheduled for 3pm.
The game will not be broadcast live on TV in the UK due to the 3pm blackout.
However, talkSPORT 2 will have you covered with EXCLUSIVE live coverage.
Faye Carruthers will be your host while Ian Danter and former Arsenal midfielder Perry Groves are your commentators.