Tottenham v Crystal Palace - Match preview and odds

Tottenham v Crystal Palace - Match preview and odds

Sunday, 20 September 16:00pm - White Hart Lane

Premier League

In the first of Sunday’s three Premier League games, Tottenham - who are currently hovering harmlessly in mid-table - will take on a Crystal Palace side who can no longer be accused of punching above their weight.

Spurs still getting warmed-up

After narrowly losing to Manchester United on the opening day of the season, Mauricio Pochettino steadied the Spurs ship with three draws (against Stoke, Leicester and Everton) followed by an away win at Sunderland last week. In midweek, they continued their positive trajectory by kicking off their 2015/16 Europa League campaign with a win at home to Azerbaijani side Qarabağ.

The Argentine coach insists that his is happy with the progress that his new-look side is making and the overall direction in which the club is heading. Spurs did strengthen some key areas in the summer but they also remain focused on promoting players from within - a tactic that served Pochettino well during his early days at cash-strapped Spanish outfit Espanyol.

Genuine contenders

On Sunday afternoon, Spurs will welcome Crystal Palace to the north of the capital knowing that a win would put them level on points. Alan Pardew’s side currently sit at sixth-place in the table having won three and lost two of their opening five games.

Last weekend, the team from South London came agonisingly close to becoming the first team to take points off league leaders Manchester City - a feat that would not have been undeserved. They have built a squad that should be capable of challenging for a top-eight finish come the end of the season, and have a manager with plenty of Premier League experience at the helm.

Team news

Spurs look a much better side when Christian Eriksen is on the pitch. Unfortunately, the Danish midfielder has not fully recovered from a knee problem and is unlikely to be risked. Ryan Mason, Mousa Dembele and Nabil Bentaleb are all expected to be missing through injury while Eric Dier could return despite being subbed after picking up a knock in Thursday night’s game.

For Palace, Joel Ward and Marouane Chamakh will both miss out but Damien Delaney and Connor Wickham could both be in contention for a starting place.

Recent form

Tottenham: WDDDL

Crystal Palace: LWWLW

Betting odds and tips

The corresponding fixture last season ended in a 0-0 draw while Palace won the reverse fixture by a single goal. Everything points to another close game this weekend and it could take just a single goal either way to settle it. Home advantage ensures that Spurs will start as favourites and they can currently be backed at evens with bet365.

The North Londoners have had to rely on their midfield and defence to supply the goals this season so another low score tally can be expected from the home side. Meanwhile Palace have scored eight goals and have only failed to find the net once this season.

In the correct score betting market, the 13/2 for a 1-1 score line from Betvictor looks like a decent bet at first glance. However, that price jumps to 14/1 if you back Palace to repeat their Stamford Bridge heroics and grab a 2-1 away win. With Spurs missing the creativity of Christian Eriksen, Palace may just have enough to snatch the points.

Go To bet365

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18/09/2015     © Frixo 2024