Will Spurs show a reaction?
The English capital will once again be the scene of action on Wednesday evening. At 21:00 German time, the next London derby will take place between Crystal Palace and Tottenham. This is an immensely important match for both teams. The home side could make up ground on the top half of the table with a win, while the visitors will not want to lose any more ground after their poor performance on New Year’s Day against Aston Villa.
With the clubs currently separated by just five positions in the standings and the Eagles still having a game of catch-up to play, there are many factors to take into account in order to make a suitable prediction ahead of the Crystal Palace v Tottenham clash. Incidentally, the last time these teams met at Selhurst Park, Palace won 3-0
If Antonio Conte’s side once again fall short of their expectations and produce another anaemic performance like they did against Aston Villa, there could be more criticism in the north of the capital.
However, with the Lily Whites only having a higher winning record against Sunderland in the English top flight than against their upcoming opponents, we dare to predict before kick-off of the Crystal Palace vs. Tottenham match that the Champions League eighth-finalists will show a fitting reaction and pick up important points in the fight for a top four spot.
Crystal Palace – Statistics & current form
Crystal Palace are playing an average season so far. Six wins compare to four draws and six defeats. The Eagles are currently eleventh in the table and eight points clear of the relegation zone, but will again find it very difficult to win one of the coveted international places in 2022/23. In the English top flight, the Londoners are the epitome of a ‘grey mouse’.
However, the team of former French world-class midfielder Patrick Vieira is always good for surprises. Among others, the capital city team has already scored at Newcastle United (0:0) or Liverpool (1:1) in the course of the season so far. Other games against the Premier League’s top teams, such as Manchester City (2:4), Chelsea (1:2) or Arsenal (0:2), were lost. The Crystal Palace can therefore not be described as a typical scare for the favourites.
Palace can swing in all directions
Strictly speaking, you could even call Wilfried Zaha’s men a real surprise package. In general, consistency is rather a foreign word. This is also underlined by the most recent four results in the Premier League. In addition to two away wins at West Ham and Bournemouth, there were also defeats against Fulham and Nottingham. Especially the 0:3 in the last home match against the Cottagers has left its mark.
Looking ahead to the upcoming match, there are also various statistics that tend to speak against the home team. In the past seven occasions when the first league match of the new calendar year was a London derby, the Eagles always left the pitch as losers. Furthermore, the eleventh-placed team in the table also won only two of the last 15 Premier League games in January (six draws, seven defeats).
That’s one of the reasons why we’re not making a prediction in favour of the hosts between Crystal Palace and Tottenham and are more inclined to include Double Chance X2 in the betting slip and possibly combine it with Under 3.5, as only two of Vieira’s 16 league games have resulted in more than three goals. Tyrick Mitchell must watch suspended. Johnstone, Ferguson and McArthur are also unavailable.
Predicted line-up of Crystal Palace:
Guaita; Clyne, Guehi, Andersen, Ward; Olise, Doucoure, Schlupp; Ayew, Zaha, Eze
Last matches played by Crystal Palace:
Premier League
31/12/2022 – Bournemouth 0 – 2 Crystal Palace
26/12/2022 – Crystal Palace 0 – 3 Fulham
Club friendlies
17/12/2022 – Crystal Palace 2 – 1 Real Valladolid
11/12/2022 – Crystal Palace 1 – 3 SSC Napoli
07/12/2022 – Trabzonspor 2 – 2 Crystal Palace
Tottenham – Statistics & current form
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club were shockingly weak at home to Aston Villa on New Year’s Day. Offensively, the Spurs couldn’t get anything done. Defensively, Hugo Lloris and Co. failed to concentrate, which Emery’s team exploited mercilessly with two goals. The re-start after the World Cup break can safely be described as a failure, as the Lily Whites had to settle for a 2-2 draw in Brentford in their very first match after the finals in Qatar.
The biggest weakness of the ambitious Champions League eighth-finalists is certainly the aforementioned defence. Tottenham have now conceded two or more goals in seven consecutive league matches. Spurs have also trailed by two goals in four of their last five PL matches. Conte’s side have conceded the first goal of the game seven times in a row
What are Antonio Conte’s key changes?
The Italian coach, who actually places great value on a stable structure, may therefore change his approach a little and risk even less. This in turn could result in fewer goals than expected in the London derby on Wednesday night. Three goals is the maximum in our eyes.
After just two wins from their past seven league games and slipping to fifth in the standings, captain Harry Kane will once again be called upon. The attacker is usually particularly fond of scoring against upcoming opponents. In his last six Premier League games against the Eagles, Kane recorded eight goals and scored five times. Annoyingly, the fixture is on a Wednesday, as with only nine goals in 28 PL matches, there is no other day of the week when the international has been less likely to score.
Coach Conte, who has only lost more games to Manchester United than Crystal Palace, will also be hoping for the return of Dejan Kulusevski, who missed the Aston Villa match with a muscle injury. However, Richarlison, Lucas Moura, Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur will not be involved.
Predicted Tottenham line-up:
Lloris; Romero, Dier, Davies; Doherty, Hojbjerg, Skipp, Sessegnon; Kulusevski, Kane, Son
Last matches played by Tottenham:
Premier League
01/01/2023 – Tottenham 0 – 2 Aston Villa
26/12/2022 – Brentford 2 – 2 Tottenham
club friendlies
22/12/2022 – Tottenham 1 – 1 Nice
09/12/2022 – Tottenham 4 – 0 Motherwell
Premier League
12/11/2022 – Tottenham 4 – 3 Leeds
Crystal Palace – Tottenham Direct comparison / H2H record
As already indicated in the introduction, Tottenham only have a better winning record in the Premier League against Sunderland than against Crystal Palace. Spurs have won 15 of the 26 meetings. However, the away team has never won in this pairing since 2018.
Last season, the home team won 3-0 on each occasion. However, the Eagles have never managed two home wins in a row against the Lily Whites. Should that change on Wednesday night, high odds of 3.30 are on offer in the three-way market between Crystal Palace and Tottenham.
Crystal Palace – Tottenham Tip
Tottenham have a lot at stake this week as they head into matchday 19 in the Premier League. After only one point from the first two games after the re-start and a total of only two wins in the past seven league matches, Antonio Conte and his team are definitely under pressure. It is helpful that Crystal Palace, a kind of favourite opponent, is waiting in the wings.
However, there are also aspects that put the away win in doubt. For example, the Lily Whites have not won any of the last ten PL away games in London. Moreover, the fifth-placed team in the table has conceded seven goals in a row and always conceded at least two. Only if coach Conte gets to grips with the defensive vulnerability can the season be a successful one.
However, we are in good spirits that Harry Kane and his colleagues will show a different face this time and take something countable away from Selhurst Park. Since the double chance X2 hardly brings any value as an isolated bet, we combine it with the Under 3.5 and finally get betting odds of 1.72 for the tip between Crystal Palace and Tottenham. Six units is our stake.
