English Premier
2018-02-25 - Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 25th February 2018 - Kick Off 12pm
This game is live on TV
Crystal Palace
A long injury list is not what Roy Hodgson would want to see at a time where Crystal Palace are looking to just make another step away from the bottom three in the Premier League. A tough run of games are coming up for Crystal Palace who have been much improved under Hodgson's guidance, but the former England manager has been warning that the club are far from out of danger.
They come into the weekend in 15th place in the Premier League table and just a point clear of Southampton in 18th place. That may have changed by the time this game kicks off on Sunday morning and increase the pressure on Crystal Palace. The Eagles have a 4-5-4 record at Selhurst Park in the Premier League where they have scored 16 goals and conceded 19.
Crystal Palace have not won any of their last 4 Premier League games and been beaten in half of those including a 3-1 setback at Everton last time out. The majority of those games came away from home and Crystal Palace have only lost 1 of their last 11 here in all competitions. On the other hand Crystal Palace have won 1 of their last 4 at Selhurst Park in the Premier League.
Attacking players Bakary Sako, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Wilfried Zaha are expected to miss this fixture, but Martin Kelly and Mamadou Sakho should offer defensive reinforcements.
Tottenham Hotspur
Mauricio Pochettino and his Tottenham Hotspur players deserve plenty of credit for some big results over the last month, but the manager may have been frustrated by the late goal conceded at Rochdale last week in the FA Cup Fifth Round. That means Tottenham Hotspur have added an extra game to their schedule with the Replay set for Wednesday and that also means this trip to South London has been pushed forward by twenty-four hours.
Trying to finish in the top four is a big goal for Tottenham Hotspur ahead of their return to North East London and new White Hart Lane next season. They come into the weekend in 5th place, but Tottenham Hotspur will move into the top four with a victory ahead of Chelsea's visit to Old Trafford later in the day. The side have a 6-3-4 record away from home in the League so far this season.
Tottenham Hotspur are unbeaten in 14 games in all competitions since their 4-1 defeat at Manchester City in the Premier League, but there has to be a slight concern about recent away results. They are unbeaten in 7 away games in all competitions, but Tottenham Hotspur have drawn 5 in a row on their travels. Tottenham Hotspur will be happy with the 2-2 draws at Liverpool and Juventus, but have also drawn with Southampton, Newport County and Rochdale in that run.
There are no injury concerns in the Tottenham Hotspur squad at the time of writing.
Head to Head
Tottenham Hotspur beat Crystal Palace 1-0 at Wembley Stadium earlier this season.
That is the 5th time in 6 games between these clubs that the game has finished with 1-0 with Tottenham Hotspur winning 4 of those including the last 3 in a row.
Crystal Palace have lost 3 of their last 4 home games against Tottenham Hotspur with the exception being a home win.
Prediction
This game has been moved forward by a day because of Tottenham Hotspur's need for a FA Cup Fifth Round Replay to try and see off Rochdale from League One.
The attention will be completely on an important Premier League game as Tottenham Hotspur look to maintain their push for a top four finish on the same day Chelsea and Manchester United meet at Old Trafford. Taking advantage of one of their top four rivals dropping points is very important, but Tottenham Hotspur have not been able to find wins away from home in recent weeks.
They have drawn their last 5 away games including at Newport County and Rochdale and that has to encourage Crystal Palace even though Roy Hodgson is dealing with a long injury list.
Crystal Palace have been strong at home, but missing the likes of Wilfried Zaha is a huge blow for Hodgson as his team are still trying to produce a gap between themselves and the bottom three. Depending on results on Saturday, Crystal Palace could even find themselves in the bottom three by the time this game kicks off and they will need to show their toughness at Selhurst Park in this one.
The Eagles have created chances at this ground and I expect they can pose a few problems for a Tottenham Hotspur team who have not had too many clean sheets on their travels in recent weeks. However this Tottenham Hotspur team are playing with the confidence to think they can hurt Crystal Palace when going forward and both teams will feel they can play a part in this one.
The layers are full of belief that there will be goals in this fixture, but they have underestimated the chances of both teams to be involved in the scoring. The last 5 Tottenham Hotspur away games have seen both teams score and Crystal Palace have scored in 10 of their last 11 home games with only a missed penalty against Manchester City providing the exception.
Even without Zaha I think Crystal Palace can have joy going forward, but 2 clean sheets in 10 home games suggests Tottenham Hotspur will also have success. Backing both teams to score at just under odds against looks the play this weekend.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Crystal Palace 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur
