Premier League: Spurs Return to Where Eagles Dare

Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur

The chant used to be ‘1-0 to the Arsenal’—to the tune of Go West (originally a tune of Village People)—in recognition of the number of times the north Londoners ground out narrow victories during the successful George Graham era.

I don’t expect most SBOBET fans to remember that, but what they will appreciate is that Spurs will not take kindly to being linked with their arch-rivals.

Yet, that is exactly what this fixture has been like over the last few Premier League seasons.

Four top-flight clashes in a row between these sides have ended 1-0 to Spurs, and they now seek a fifth triumph, whatever the scoreline, at Selhurst Park.

Talking Points

This fixture has also seen one of the great Premier League goals of recent times, and there is no doubt Palace could understandably feel a little aggrieved to be edged out so late on so many occasions.

This is fourth against 14^th at the end of the day, with 16 points separating the sides in the table after just 11 matches. With that said, as Premier League 2018 news goes, a home win would be a shock win.

After his great display against Chelsea, can Andros Townsend once again score for Crystal Palace in the Premier League? — Crystal Palace’s Andros Townsend celebrates after scoring against Chelsea in the Premier League

However, Palace do not seem to be a side struggling, even if they are only two points clear of the relegation zone.

After leading their great escape ‘Houdini’ act last year, veteran boss Roy Hodgson has instilled genuine confidence in the Eagles. Despite an embarrassing end to his tenure in charge of the England national team, he retained an iron faith in his ability and that rubbed off on the rock-bottom team he inherited.

It’s easy to forget that when Hodgson replaced Frank de Boer (who wasn’t given enough time) at Selhurst Park in September 2017, the club was at the foot of the Premier League after losing their first four matches. Hodgson led them to an 11th-place finish.

One man who also has plenty of belief in his ability is his Spurs counterpart, Mauricio Pochettino.

This match will be Tottenham’s fifth in 12 days and so far, his team has shrugged off the unfair pile-up.

They really showed their mettle at Wolves last weekend and even pushed reigning champions Man City close at the start of this hectic fortnight, despite missing key personnel.

Pochettino has assembled a team which, while not strengthened in the summer, was not weakened either and has an understanding of how each other works.

If you consider the top three as title contenders, Spurs are probably leading the race for the ‘best of the rest’ title in the Premier League this season and for that all-important fourth and final Champions League spot.

Despite criticism, England captain Harry Kane has continued to bang in the goals, while the return from injury of Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen are undoubted pluses.

But could this be one game too many for what is still a fairly medium-sized squad compared to many of their rivals, especially at the end of such a congested period?

We are about to find out.

History

Last season, a 64th-minute goal from Son Heung-Min gave the Spurs victory at Wembley. Meanwhile, at Selhurst Park, the Lilywhites left it late with Kane netting the solitary goal in the 88th minute.

It was exactly the same the season before, with Pochettino’s men again leaving it late as Victor Wanyama scored the only goal eight minutes from time in an early-season clash at White Hart Lane.

In April 2017, Eriksen scored the match-winner in the return fixture as Tottenham took a major step towards securing successive Premier League runner-up spots.

Spurs have won six league games in a row against Palace, although the Eagles will fondly recall their 2016 FA Cup victory when they enjoyed a fifth-round success on the road en route to the final.