The Premier League fixtures keep on rolling at the start of 2023 as Tottenham make the trip to Crystal Palace for this all-London clash on Wednesday night.
The new calendar year couldn’t have gotten off to a poorer start for Antonio Conte’s Lilywhites, who were drab in their New Year’s Day defeat at home to Aston Villa. It felt like the lowest point of the Italian’s tenure thus far and with the injuries piling up, Spurs could do without this midweek encounter.
Crystal Palace, who thumped Wednesday’s opponents 3-0 on home soil last season, rounded off 2022 with a comfortable 2-0 victory at Bournemouth after they were beaten by Fulham on Boxing Day. A mid-table finish is in store for Patrick Vieira’s side, but they’d like to grab one or two big scalps along the way.
Here’s 90min’s preview of this Premier League fixture.
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Crystal Palace team news
Tyrick Mitchell is suspended for Wednesday’s Premier League clash but Vieira could welcome James Tomkins back to his starting XI after the defender served his one-game suspension.
However, it’s likely that Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen will continue at centre-back.
There are no fresh concerns on the injury front for the hosts, and Vieira may name an unchanged XI from the weekend’s victory at Bournemouth.
Crystal Palace starting 11 (4-3-3): Guaita; Clyne, Andersen, Guehi, Ward; Doucoure, Schlupp, Olise; Ayew, Zaha, Eze.
Tottenham team news
Yves Bissouma picked up his fifth Premier League yellow card of the season against Aston Villa which means he’s suspended for the trip to Selhurst Park. With Rodrigo Bentancur likely to be absent due to injury, Conte could hand a first Spurs start to Pape Matar Sarr in midfield. Oliver Skipp is also in contention.
Dejan Kulusevski is a major doubt after a muscular issue saw him miss the New Year’s Day defeat. Richarlison and Lucas Moura are also sidelined which leaves the Lilywhites short-handed in attack.
Eric Dier could come back in at the heart of defence.
Tottenham starting 11 (3-4-3): Lloris; Romero, Dier, Lenglet; Doherty, Sarr, Hojbjerg, Sessegnon; Son Kane, Perisic.
Selhurst Park isn’t an easy place to visit at the best of times, and Tottenham have struggled on this ground in recent years. It’s always a tight and cagey affair, with very little separating the two sides.
The visitors are vulnerable given their injury woes and their New Year’s Day defeat, while Palace are in a buoyant mood following their recent triumph.
It’s poised to be a tough watch for Spurs supporters against a talented Eagles outfit, but they might just do enough to walk away with a point.
Score prediction: Crystal Palace 1-1 Tottenham
