Tottenham vs. Crystal Palace
Venue: Wembley stadium
Kick off: 12PM
Tottenham Hotspur head into their Premier League showdown with Crystal Palace on the back of a memorable 3-1 triumph over Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Palace make the short trip to Wembley Stadium still sitting at the bottom of the table, but the Eagles did record just their fourth point of the campaign last weekend.
Spurs may have gotten the better of Real Madrid in midweek, but head coach Mauricio Pochettino will still have mixed feelings regarding his side’s recent performances and how he should approach the upcoming fixtures.
While Spurs deserve their praise for toppling the Champions League title holders, defeats against both West Ham United and Manchester United will not have been forgotten and today’s meeting with Crystal Palace is an opportunity to show that Spurs can maintain the correct mentality after such a significant win.
Dele Alli had started to come in for criticism for his inconsistent displays this season, but the midfielder’s two-goal contribution against Real has only improved his stock having had to sit out three European games through suspension.
Harry Kane remains the club’s talisman – despite not scoring at Wembley on Wednesday – and his influence on this team has become increasingly evident after sitting out the disappointing defeats which preceded the triumph over Los Blancos.
Palace boss Roy Hodgson suggested that he was unhappy with his side’s 2-2 draw with West Ham United last weekend, but the result could potentially act as the catalyst for a change in fortunes for the club.
The London outfit remain four points adrift of safety, but salvaging a point when facing a two-goal deficit against a direct rival could turn out to be a big result for a team who have struggled all season.
Tottenham Hotspur possible XI: Vorm, Sanchez, Dier, Vertonghen, Trippier, Winks, Dembele, Davies, Eriksen, Alli, Kane.
Crystal Palace possible XI: Speroni, Ward, Dann, Tomkins, Fosu-Mensah, Milivojevic, Cabaye, Loftus-Cheek, Schlupp, Townsend, Zaha.