Crystal Palace vs. Tottenham: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview

Even when he's not even playing, Gareth Bale is still dominating the headlines.

With speculation over a transfer to Real Madrid continuing to run rampant, the Guardian's David Hytner reported Bale will miss the first three matches of the season as a result of him having missed most of the preseason due to injury.

That means the winger will miss the opener against Crystal Palace, a Europa League fixture against Dinamo Tbilisi and the critical North London Derby.

Even without Bale, Tottenham should be able to get by just fine. They've had a great summer and recently confirmed the purchase of Etienne Capoue (h/t Tottenham's Instagram account).

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace's biggest signing of the summer has been Marouane Chamakh. Palace have been hit hard by Wilfried Zaha finally moving to Manchester United. The winger was a huge part of the Eagles' promotional campaign. Without him, they lack a creative presence in the attack who can get his teammates involved.

This could be a tough season for Palace fans, as the club will struggle to stay out of the relegation zone.

Here's a quick preview for this Sunday's clash.

When: Sunday, August 18, at 8:30 a.m. ET (13:30 BST)

Where: Selhurst Park, London, England

Watch: NBC Sports Network

Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra

Crystal Palace Player to Watch: Marouane Chamakh

Marouane Chamakh is one of the biggest symbols of Arsenal's failures in the transfer market. The 29-year-old did very well for Bordeaux but was a flop at the Emirates.

The biggest problem for Chamakh is that while in France, he benefited from what was a more direct style of play. He received a lot of service from wide areas. At Arsenal, he had to adapt to an attacking style where the ball was played on the ground through the middle of the pitch.

Now having moved to Crystal Palace for a full season, this could be a big year for Chamakh, at least big by the standards he set at Arsenal.

Ian Holloway used a pretty direct style at Blackpool and has done the same at Crystal Palace. That should be a major benefit to Chamakh.

He was on loan to West Ham last season but didn't have much opportunity to get in the side. With the Eagles, he'll be the main target man and major focus of the attack.

Given the strength of Tottenham's defence, Chamakh might have a hard time making much of an impact. Spurs will be sure to key on him.

If Crystal Palace are to get anything, Chamakh will likely be the guy to make it happen.

Tottenham Player to Watch: Paulinho

On the whole, Tottenham have done very well in this summer's transfer window, perhaps the best in the Premier League. The crown jewel of the transfer purchases is Paulinho.

The 25-year-old was one of the best players at the 2013 Confederations Cup as Brazil romped to a title. It's never good to base your judgment of a player off just one tournament, though. Fortunately for Spurs, Paulinho has demonstrated his skills in both the Club World Cup and Brasileirao for Corinthians.

With the signing of Etienne Capoue, as confirmed by the Guardian, Paulinho should have a little more creative licence in midfield. He's not going to have to be the sole midfielder sitting in front of the back four.

During Brazil's tremendous run in the Confederations Cup, Paulinho displayed how good a of link he can be in midfield. With Luiz Gustavo behind him and Oscar up closer to goal, he was the perfect link between the two.

At Spurs, he can be that conduit between Capoue and somebody like Gareth Bale, Moussa Dembele, Lewis Holtby or Gylfi Sigurdsson as the season goes on.

Against Crystal Palace, Paulinho should have a nice welcome into the Premier League. The Eagles lack a lot of talent and strength in midfield, so the Brazilian should have an easy time threading the ball through to his teammates and may even have an effort or two on goal.

Prediction

This one is gonna be Spurs, Spurs and more Spurs. They outmatch Crystal Palace in just about every aspect of play. Even without Bale, Tottenham will cruise to victory.

With the new signings Andre Villas-Boas has made, this is a nice opening match of the season. Palace will be lucky to stay up this season, so the likes of Paulinho, Roberto Soldado and Nacer Chadli have a good opportunity to continue getting bedded into the squad. The stakes are higher than in preseason, but the match shouldn't be too hard.

Soldado is going to open his Spurs account, and Tottenham are going to take control of this one early. Palace will get a consolation goal late.

Welcome back to the Premier League, Crystal Palace.

Tottenham Hotspur 3, Crystal Palace 1