English Premier
2026-03-05 - Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Thursday 5th March 2026 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Tottenham Hotspur
There have to be some serious alarm bells ringing in this part of North London after Tottenham Hotspur were not only beaten again this past weekend, but produced another poor performance. Igor Tudor has only been in charge for two games, but already looks frustrated with the world, while an injury hit squad is devoid of much confidence as Tottenham Hotspur continue to sit in a precarious position.
The only good news for Tottenham Hotspur fans was that Leeds United, Nottingham Forest, West Ham United and Burnley were also all beaten in the latest round of Premier League fixtures. That means Spurs remain 16th in the standings and 4 points clear of the bottom three, but they play last this week and that gap could be much, much closer by the time they kick off. One of the big problems for Tottenham Hotspur is the awful 2-4-8 record at home, which means only Wolves have secured fewer home points.
Tottenham Hotspur may have hoped the fightback from 0-2 behind to draw with Manchester City would spark a positive run, but instead they have lost all 4 Premier League games played since that result in early February. Wins at home against European opponents have been one thing, but Spurs have not won any of the last 7 here against English opponents and have been beaten 4 times in that run.
Cristian Romero completes his domestic suspension, while Djed Spence is closing on a return, as is Destiny Udogie. However, the long injury list at Tottenham Hotspur reads like a 'who's who' list and there are hugely influential players unable to help right now.
Crystal Palace
There was some real frustration with the officials in the 2-1 defeat at Manchester United on Sunday, but Oliver Glasner stated that he was pretty happy with the performance produced by his squad. They are stretched right now, but Crystal Palace will have several days of recovery after this fixture is played and so the manager will want to see another big effort produced.
They were leading when Maxence Lacroix was sent off and a Penalty awarded and it was perhaps no surprise that Crystal Palace were not able to hold out considering they had played the previous Thursday. There is a bit more recovery time before this Premier League game and Crystal Palace are 14th in the table with a 6-2-6 away record in the top flight.
Crystal Palace had a miserable run through the end of Autumn and into the New Year, but they do make the relatively short journey to North London having won half of the last 6 games played in all competitions. The Eagles have only won 1 of the last 7 away Premier League games, but had drawn at the City Ground and won at the Amex Stadium before taking the lead at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The aforementioned Maxence Lacroix is suspended, while Jefferson Lerma and Jean-Philippe Mateta are not expected to feature. Brennan Johnson is playing against his former team, but Oliver Glasner will need to use makeshift defenders with Lacroix out and Marc Guehi sold.
Head to Head
One goal was enough to earn the three points when the teams met at the end of December and it was Tottenham Hotspur who left Selhurst Park with a 0-1 victory.
They had beaten Crystal Palace in 9 straight home League games, but that run was ended in May 2025 when a Europa League focused Tottenham Hotspur were beaten 0-2 here.
Prediction
The atmosphere on Thursday evening is going to be very interesting at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and it may be influenced by what has happened earlier in the Premier League week.
If both West Ham United and Nottingham Forest have lost League fixtures, the fans may be more ready to really try and rally the Tottenham Hotspur team for a big result that could ease growing relegation concerns.
However, even if one of those sides have earned a victory, you can imagine there is going to be tension in the air and the Tottenham Hotspur players have simply not been coping with the pressure.
The appointment of Igor Tudor for the 12 remaining Premier League games felt like a gamble when it was announced and Tottenham Hotspur have to be very worried after opening up with 2 defeats. They did not play really badly against Arsenal, but were poor defensively and cut apart, which resulted in a big home loss.
In the more recent fixture, Spurs were pretty horrific for an hour against Fulham and were perhaps fortunate to only be 2-0 behind when they scored what turned out to be a consolation goal.
Igor Tudor's comments cannot have gone down too well with the players nor the supporters and this feels a huge fixture.
Tottenham Hotspur are hosting a Crystal Palace team struggling for consistency, but recent performances have been much more encouraging. The squad is limited though and losing Maxence Lacroix is another blow, while Crystal Palace have been going through a much busier schedule than their hosts.
Oliver Glasner's team have picked up key points though to ease their own concerns about slumping into a relegation fight and they played well at Old Trafford before the Penalty and sending off which changed the game. The Eagles have nothing to lose here with the main priority being the Conference League, but they have a week to prepare for the Last 16 tie and this is a team that can cause plenty of problems with the pace in the final third.
No one would be surprised if Brennan Johnson plays an influential role against his former team who sold him in the January transfer window.
Crystal Palace do have others capable of stepping up and hurting Tottenham Hotspur and they may be the more settled team, even with makeshift centre halves.
Considering the lack of confidence in the home squad, it is a real surprise that Tottenham Hotspur are favourites even as the price has been drifting since Sunday.
Recent years had been tough for Crystal Palace when travelling to face Tottenham Hotspur, but they won here last year to snap a 9 League game losing run and The Eagles look a big price to make it two in a row and leave Spurs fans in a desperate position.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Crystal Palace
