MY ACCOUNT
– Crystal Palace have won three of their last four home Premier League games
– Tottenham have failed to win five of their eight top-flight away matches this season
– Recommended bet: Crystal Palace Draw No Bet
Crystal Palace will look to begin 2023 with a home win against troubled Tottenham when the two sides meet for a London derby at Selhurst Park on Wednesday.
The Eagles’ 2-0 win at Bournemouth on Saturday ensured they ended the year in the right way and left manager Patrick Vieira to muse that his team had silenced ‘the people who doubted us’.
First-half goals from Jordan Ayew and Eberechi Eze took Palace up to 11th in the Premier League and created a bigger gap between themselves and the relegation zone.
The voices of dissent are growing at Spurs, however, after Sunday’s home defeat to Aston Villa raised further doubts over coach Antonio Conte’s style of football and the depth of his stretched-looking squad.
The Italian will be looking for a reaction from his team, who have lost four of their last seven in the Premier League, when they make the trip to South London.
Team news
Vieira changed Palace’s shape on the South Coast, with Jeffrey Schlupp partnering Cheick Doucoure in central midfield and Eze operating centrally ahead of them.
Ayew started as the lone centre forward, flanked by Wilfried Zaha and Michael Olise on either side.
An unchanged line-up seems likely against Spurs with Joel Ward continuing to fill in for the suspended Tyrick Mitchell at left-back.
Spurs boss Conte is waiting on the fitness of Dejan Kulusevski, who the Italian says does not have a serious injury but it bears monitoring.
Lucas Moura and Richarlison are still out, so there are limited options for Conte to freshen up his line-up in the forward areas.
Ivan Perisic could be pressed into a more attacking role on the left with Ryan Sessegnon an option to come in at wing-back.
But Rodrigo Bentancur remains out with a thigh injury the midfielder picked up on international duty with Uruguay at the World Cup.
The stats
Tottenham are unbeaten (W5, D3) in the eight Premier League games Kulusevski has started in 2022-23, but have lost five of the nine that he has not.
Spurs have now conceded two or more goals in eight consecutive league matches for the first time since November 1988.
Conte’s team have conceded the opening goal in seven consecutive games in the Premier League for the first time since November 2010.
In 16 clashes against Tottenham as an Arsenal player, Vieira finished on the losing side only once while also collecting nine wins and six draws.
The home team has won this fixture by three clear goals each of the last three times it has been played with both clubs posting 3-0 wins on their own turf last season while both visiting sides were reduced to 10 men.
Prediction
Palace, who have won three of their last four home Premier League games, looked much better from back to front against Bournemouth and could do further damage to Tottenham’s top-four hopes at Selhurst Park.
The confidence has begun to seep away from Spurs’ players with the error from Hugo Lloris that led to Aston Villa’s opener just another example of them bringing trouble on themselves.
Conte has searched for a formula to arrest the decline, but handing Bryan Gil his first Premier League start and hoping he could have any influence did not prove fruitful.
Son is in the worst run of form since he joined the club and even Harry Kane looks unable to influence games as he did before.
Spurs have failed to win five of their eight away contests in the Premier League this term and appear unlikely to take all three points on Wednesday.
The Eagles, who are available at back at 13/10 Draw No Bet with LiveScore Bet, can capitalise on this miserable moment in Spurs’ season by securing victory or at the very least a draw.
