Last updated & checked: 10/08/2021
While Spurs seem to be finding their feet following some post-World Cup fatigue – they last managed to topple a determined Wolves in a thrilling contest – Crystal Palace are having an absolutely dreadful time of it. They failed to win all but two of their Premier League outings so far, with their most recent 3-1 loss against Chelsea being an especially bruising encounter.
We have seen the occasional spark from Crystal Palace. That being said though, we think even their most loyal supporters would confess that they are going to have to find more consistency if they want to best Tottenham’s well-oiled goal scoring machine.
Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur Prediction: Crystal Palace 1-3 Tottenham
Based on the results – there are currently 12 positions separating these two in the Premier League – we don’t think many people will be making a Crystal Palace prediction. A home side win isn’t impossible, especially if we see the type of fire we saw from then when they ended Arsenal’s 11-game winning streak in a gruelling 2-2 draw. However, it doesn’t seem likely, especially with a team as creative on the attack as Spurs.
In the end, we think Tottenham will simply be too much for Crystal Palace’s defences, but the underdogs will probably manage to get some kind of recourse over the 90 minutes. We‘ll therefore predict a 3-1 result to Tottenham.
Our recommended tip: Both teams to score
Following on from our predicted scoreline, our recommended tip is for both teams to score during the 90 minutes of play. Alongside what we’ve already mentioned, the reasoning behind this is really Tottenham Hotspur’s style of play.
They can be such prolific goalscorers but one thing you’ll notice when looking at their past scorelines is that they also tend to concede a goal or two. That’s really the sacrifice they make with their high-risk offence. We think Crystal Palace will have enough to take advantage of those weaker moments and manage a goal, leading to a generally high-scoring affair. You can get safe 4/6 odds for both teams to score from William Hill.
Previous matches
These two have an interesting history, as their last four matches led to the exact same result and that’s a 1-0 victory for Tottenham Hotspur. We obviously don’t think history will repeat itself yet again, but it’s a nice bit of trivia between the two. In fact, this winning streak is cut off by a 1-0 win of Crystal Palace’s own in 2016.
Before that though, things go on pretty much as you would expect, with Tottenham picking up the majority of the wins, peppered with the odd Palace comeback. Their history pretty much backs up our comments on this upcoming game so far: Spurs are likely to win but don’t necessarily count a plucky Crystal Palace out yet.
Top 3 Premier League Bookies
Players to watch: Wilfried Zaha & Érik Lamela
Crystal Palace: Wilfried Zaha
Our pick for the one to watch in this match for Crystal Palace is the man who was once heavily touted to be making a move to Spurs mere months ago during the last transfer window, and that’s the irreplaceable Wilfried Zaha. Crystal Palace certainly thought he was irreplaceable, considering the £70 million price tag Steve Parish laid on his talents. He’s so vital to the side that they’ve looked utterly lost without him. Not only is Zaha the one to watch here, but is pretty much for every team he heads on the pitch.
Tottenham Hotspur: Érik Lamela
It’s always tricky to pick a player to watch from Tottenham Hotspur because, in all honesty, you could make a reasonable case for most of the squad. However, for this, we’re going to go with the increasingly impressive Érik Lamela. We might not have seen as much of his magic as we’d have liked against PSV in the Champions League, but he shone against Wolves with a goal and an assist and has proven himself to be a prolific goal-scorer in a team full of them.
