Image copyright: Getty Images
2023/24 English Premier League
Matchday 27
Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
London, England
Saturday, 2 March 2024
Kick-off is at 17h00
Tottenham will attempt to get their top-four challenge back on track when they lock horns with Crystal Palace in a
London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, March 2.
Spurs saw a five-match unbeaten run come to an end as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat at home to Wolves on February 17, which allowed Aston Villa to open up a five-point gap to them in fourth place.
Ange Postecoglou's side have a game in hand on the Villans though, and they were fortunate to see Manchester United suffer a 2-1 loss to Fulham at Old Trafford on February 24 to remain three points back in sixth position.
Arsenal went six points clear of Villa in third spot after a 4-1 victory over Newcastle at the Emirates Stadium extended their winning streak to six matches, putting them two behind Premier League leaders Liverpool.
The Eagles made the biggest strides in the bottom half of the table after they beat Burnley 3-0 at Selhurst Park on February 24 to go above Brentford (15th) and Bournemouth (14th) into 13th place.
Oliver Glasner's side arrested a three-game winless run in the process to give themselves an eight-point cushion to the relegation zone, with Luton (18th) and Sheffield United (20th) also losing on matchday 26.
Image copyright: Getty Images
in team news, Destiny Udogie (knee) could return for the hosts after sitting out the clash with Wanderers, but Fraser Forster (ankle), Pedro Porro (strain), Manor Solomon (knee) and Ryan Sessegnon (thigh) remain unavailable. Will Hughes (ankle) and Eberechi Eze (thigh) will face late fitness tests for the visitors, who continue to be without Cheick Doucoure (calf), Rob Holding (ankle), Michael Olise, Jesurun Rak-Sakyi (both thigh) and Marc Guehi (knee).
Postecoglou expressed his disappointment with the result and the performance against Wolves after admitting Spurs were well off the pace in the first half as Joao Gomes gave the visitors the lead on 42 minutes before Dejan Kulusevski equalised at the start of the second half.
"We're disappointed with the outcome. Performance is probably a similar feeling. The first half, we controlled the game without being threatening and allowed Wolves to get comfortable," he told Sky Sports.
"Second half, we got the goal early and we had them under pressure for the majority and had them pinned back. We had some chances but when you concede a second, you make the game difficult.
"We've had injuries all year and we've performed better than we did today. It's still on us to put in the level of performance irrespective of who is missing.
"We can't win games of football unless we're absolutely at our best and in the first 45, we weren't. We're disappointed but there's still a good chunk of the season to go. We've got two weeks until the next game and we've got to make sure we're ready (for Palace)."
Glasner, who replaced Roy Hodgson at the helm on February 19, made a winning start to his tenure and praised his players for a spirited performance against the Clarets.
"The players from the beginning, the players who came into the game, and also the bench, you can feel this. There was a good spirit. You are more often than me at Selhurst, but for me it was 'wow'," the Austrian said.
"Before the game in the locker room, what kind of spirit the players showed, what kind of power they showed, and for me it was 'wow' again when I entered the stadium before the game.
"In such an environment you're able to show your best performance. I don't think it was our best performance, but it was OK for the start. I was not concerned [about struggling to create opportunities against the low block]. We had the balance. It worries me if we lose it."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Tottenham wins - 4
Palace wins - 1
Draws - 0
Premier League Matchday 27 fixtures:
Saturday, March 2
17h00: Brentford v Chelsea
17h00: Everton v West Ham United
17h00: Fulham v Brighton & Hove Albion
17h00: Newcastle United vWolverhampton Wanderers
17h00: Nottingham Forest v Liverpool
17h00: Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace
19h30: Luton Town v Aston Villa
Sunday, March 3
15h00: Burnley v Bournemouth
17h30: Manchester City v Manchester United
Monday, March 4
22h00: Sheffield United v Arsenal
Bet on the English Premier League with Betway
Sign up at Betway and enjoy solid action & heart-racing thrills when you
bet on soccer
For all the latest sports news, betting tips and promotions follow Betway on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Download the Betway App.