Tottenham vs. Crystal Palace: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
The first London derby of the season for Tottenham Hotspur sees them host an increasingly confident Crystal Palace side on Sunday.
Although they lost 1-0 to Manchester City last time out, three wins from five (including over champions Chelsea) have seen the Eagles begin encouragingly in their attempts to push on from last term's 10th-place finish.
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"In fact, probably the only disappointing performance we've put in was at Norwich, and we managed to win that game," a proud Alan Pardew said of Palace's efforts (via his club's official website). "In the other games we've been very strong, we've played Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and now we have Spurs away, so it's been a really, really tough run, and we find ourselves on nine points."
Having lost 2-1 at Selhurst Park to Palace in their previous meeting in January, Tottenham are aware they will do well to secure all three points.
"They showed signs of what they are capable of when Alan Pardew took over last season, and this season they’ve really kicked on," midfielder Eric Dier told his club's official website.
"They’ve got a bit of everything now because they are organised, and they defend well, but then they also have good attacking players with flair and creativity."
With their first Premier League win of the season secured last week at Sunderland (plus a midweek confidence-booster over Qarabag), Spurs will want to try to sustain their momentum—especially with big games against Arsenal and Manchester City following in the next seven days.
Facing Palace may not carry the same prestige, but they have already underlined why they are not an opponent to look beyond.
Date: Sunday, September 20
Time: 1:30 p.m. BST/8:30 a.m. ET
Venue: White Hart Lane, London
TV Info: Sky Sports 1 (UK and Ireland only)/USA Network (U.S. only)
Live Stream: Sky Go and NOW TV (UK and Ireland only)/NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S. only)
Form Lines
| Tottenham Hotspur | Crystal Palace |
| Europa League, September 17: Qarabag FK (H)—Win: 3-1 | Premier League, September 12: Manchester City (H)—Loss: 0-1 |
| Premier League, September 13: Sunderland (A)—Win: 0-1 | Premier League, August 29: Chelsea (A)—Win: 1-2 |
| Premier League, August 29: Everton (H)—Draw: 0-0 | Capital One Cup, August 25: Shrewsbury Town (H)—Win: 4-1 |
| Premier League, August 22: Leicester City (A)—Draw: 1-1 | Premier League, August 22: Aston Villa (H)—Win: 2-1 |
| Premier League, August 15: Stoke City (H)—Draw: 2-2 | Premier League, August 16: Arsenal (H)—Loss: 1-2 |
Team News
Christian Eriksen and Ryan Mason both face late fitness tests, the latter joining the Dane on the doubtful list after getting injured in last week's win over Sunderland.
Mousa Dembele is doubtful to return while an ankle injury keeps Nabil Bentaleb out.
Joe Ledley is back for Crystal Palace after missing last week's game while Connor Wickham could also be ready too.
The south London club's website also reports Joel Ward is still unable to follow up on his match-winner versus Chelsea, while Damien Delaney making it back is a long shot.
Predicted Lineups
There has been a general idea of what Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino's team would look like since the opening weekend. Their first Europa League fixture and a spate of injuries has created a little more uncertainty in the build-up to facing Crystal Palace.
If this past Thursday's starting XI against Qarabag is anything to go by, like last season the Argentinian is looking to retain some continuity between league and cup selections. Toby Alderweireld, Dele Alli, Eric Dier and Hugo Lloris all kept their places after facing Sunderland.
However, the influence of injuries is already set to affect just how much Spurs can rotate competitions, on this occasion, particularly in midfield areas.
Although Dembele, Eriksen and Mason are all in contention following respective fitness issues, it is unlikely Pochettino will throw all three back in from the start. If deemed fit, last week's match-winner could get the nod if only because the need centrally for bodies is a little greater than further forward.
Alli and Son Heung-Min could be kept on with the returning Nacer Chadli and Harry Kane. It will be their third start in a row, but having witnessed their roles in Thursday's win—their combined skill and penalty-box prowess helping see off the Azerbaijani champions—their boss may trust in them to repeat the formula against Palace. Using Andros Townsend as a direct wing threat to match those of the Eagles is also an option.
Ward's definite and Delaney's probable absences should see Crystal Palace go with the same back five that faced Man City. Yohan Cabaye and James McArthur are likely to be back in central midfield too.
Pardew's biggest decisions relate to who he chooses to lead the line for his team and how that could alter the makeup of his attacking midfield.
If he is fit, Wickham being restored up top would provide the kind of focal point that so helped unsettle and distract Chelsea's defence prior to the international break. Yannick Bolasie was the nominal front man versus Manchester City, but his manager may prefer to get him back out wide and working Spurs' full-backs (more on which later).
If it is the former option, one of Bolasie, Jason Puncheon, Bakary Sako and Wilfried Zaha will miss out. This writer opted for the latter in the above predicted lineup, but any one of them could drop out and the same mix of speed and flexible movement and interchanges should remain.
Tottenham Hotspur Player to Watch: Nacer Chadli
Chadli was one of Tottenham's more active attacking performers versus Sunderland. Looking to generate attacks down the left as the team toiled in the opening hour, he later moved infield and linked up nicely with Townsend in particular.
Sunderland's search for an equaliser in the last 10 minutes resulted in Spurs finally finding more space in the final third. Chadli had chances to add a second but was unable to find the target with the clock winding down.
An ever-present figure in the league so far this season, that seems unlikely to change on Sunday. Physically adept, skillful and—despite evidence to the contrary last week—in possession of a decent eye for goal, Chadli continues to provide a more direct attacking balance to the likes of Eriksen and Erik Lamela.
Pochettino will not be actively looking to move a player out of the side who has served him well anytime soon. However, the addition of Alli, Son and Clinton Njie has given the head coach more options to vary things up here.
With others keen to get more minutes in attacking midfield too, Chadli will understand he cannot rest on his laurels. If his new team-mates keep delivering in the fashion they did in Thursday's Europa League match, his place could come under risk if his own production does not keep up.
Coming up against some of the Premier League's most exciting attacking talent right now this weekend, Chadli can show why he deserves to be recognised as one of the better players here.
Crystal Palace Player to Watch: Yannick Bolasie
Tottenham reportedly pursuing Bolasie this past summer—the Independent's Andy Sims among those linking the two—was not one of the transfer window's more surprising links (albeit Pardew said there was not much to it in his pre-match press conference, per his club's official Twitter).
The team wanted reinforcements in attack, and had interest been genuine, Spurs had seen firsthand what an exciting option the winger could provide.
Bolasie helped light up Spurs and Crystal Palace's mostly dour 0-0 draw in December 2014. Joining Zaha and latterly Puncheon in barely allowing the home side's full-backs a moment's rest, he enhanced his status as one of the game's most popular tricksters by delightfully duping Eric Dier and Christian Eriksen with some mesmeric skill.
Bolasie missed Palace's 2-1 win over Spurs in January while on African Cup of Nations duty. The much-sadder reason of his father dying caused his absence for his team's defeat of Aston Villa last month.
Since returning, the 26-year-old has played with the kind of panache that may make Pochettino wish he was among his ranks. Bolasie was pleased with his team's performance; he thanked the team's supporters via Twitter:
Fresh off the bench at Chelsea, Bolasie's cross to an unmarked Bakary Sako allowed the wide-man to tee up Joel Ward for the winner (a performance referred to by the player above).
Although unable to make such a difference against Manchester City, the DR Congo international was vibrant again as the Eagles took the game to the Premier League's pacesetters. Usually dictating games themselves, City's proactive default position was temporarily switched to reactive.
Bolasie exemplifies Palace's newfound confidence under Pardew as much as anyone. Back at White Hart Lane, he will hope to give one of his best demonstrations yet of it.
Key Battle: Can Spurs Impose Themselves on Palace?
While Crystal Palace caused Tottenham problems at the Lane last year, their performance under then-manager Neil Warnock was mostly about shutting the home team down. They did that well enough on that day, but such a strategy was not going to be enough to sustain them in the top flight.
As Dier noted at the top of the preview, Pardew has got Palace operating well at both ends now. There is a solid foundation that allows the likes of Bolasie and Puncheon to express themselves. Not just in defence, but in midfield too where creativity does not come at the expense of positional discipline (not yet anyway).
What was so impressive about the Eagles performances versus Chelsea and Manchester City were they looked like equals. There were spells when the club, only a couple of years removed from the Championship (albeit with several alterations to that group), looked more comfortably in their own skin than the Premier League's last two champions.
There were shades of that in the side Spurs faced at Selhurst Park in January, but now Palace have the look of an even more confident prospect. The north Londoners' response to this kind of opponent will provide fascinating insight into just how well Pochettino's team is shaping up.
Beat the visitors and they can really begin to feel good about themselves at the commencement of a tough sequence of games. Palace are not going to lose to a bad team in the form they are in right now.
Fail to impose themselves and it will be difficult to see how they can expect to push on in the following couple of weeks. If they are off their game, they will be punished by the men from south of the River Thames.
Odds (via Odds Shark)
Tottenham win: 10-11
Crystal Palace win: 3-1
Draw: 13-5
