Premier League: Spurs to Shoot Down the Wounded Eagles

Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur

League leaders Tottenham open up the next round of Premier League fixtures on Friday night when they travel to South London to take on Crystal Palace.

Ange Postecoglou’s side just don’t look like slipping up at the moment despite any early thoughts that the new attacking Tottenham couldn’t keep it up.

Well, we’re nine games in, and Spurs are one of two teams to remain unbeaten alongside North London rivals Arsenal, but they have won seven of their marches to the Gunners’ six.

Next up for Spurs, it’s Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace, who were on the end of a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Newcastle United last week, while Postecoglou’s boys returned to the top of the table thanks to a 2-0 victory over Fulham on Monday night.

I’m predicting more joy for the shining Whites.    

Talking Points

Goal-shy Eagles

Palace made a pretty good start to the 2023/24 campaign, and they sit handily in 12^th place on 12 points, eight above the drop zone.

But these are early days, and there have been some worrying signs for Hodgson in recent weeks. The Eagles have only scored one goal in their last five games, Joachim Andersen’s winner in a 1-0 victory over Manchester United.

This recent goal drought is not for the lack of trying. Palace actually had more shots than Newcastle last week, though they were picked off at will by the ruthless Magpies.

But it was a different story in their last home game, a 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest in which they were outplayed by their visitors and only managed two shots on target in the entire 100 minutes.

The Eagles do have some exciting young players, but a lot rests on the shoulders of wide-man Odsonne Edouard, who is top scoring with four goals, and Jean-Philippe Mateta, who has made three assists. The experienced Jordan Ayew still has plenty of pace, but he has never been a prolific scorer.

A visit to St. James’ Park to take on high-flying Newcastle United was hard enough on the Eagles, and it doesn’t get much easier on Friday when another blank will surely mean nil points for Hodgson and his men.   

Goal-happy Tottenham

The latest Premier League 2023 betting odds make Spurs the fourth favourites to win the league. And after the visit of Marco Silva’s Fulham in Monday, it’s easy to see why, as goals from Heung-Min Son and James Maddison saw off the Cottagers.

Son is top scoring with six goals, and he is showing no signs of missing his long-time sparring partner Harry Kane, while Maddison is fast becoming the best signing of the summer transfer window.

The former Leicester City man has always displayed a prodigious talent, but he has added consistency to his high-level performances as Postecoglou encourages him to play a fluid role, and that has certainly paid off.

Maddison has made five assists and scored three goals as Spurs have racked up 20 goals for the season so far. They have only failed to score two or more on one occasion, in the recent 1-0 win away to Luton, a game which they had to scrap out after Yves Bissouma received a first half red card. But in all truth, Spurs should have been 3-0 up after 10 minutes of that game.

When you see Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison alongside Son, and with Maddison pulling the strings, it is hard to imagine a more dangerous front quartet. The Eagle’s backline will need to play the game of their lives to keep them out.      

History

Spurs have had much the better of the head-to-head encounters over the past 30 years with 17 wins to six, and there have been six draws.

They did the double over the Eagles last season with a 1-0 win at home and a 4-0 rout at Selhurst Park as the now departed Kane scored a brace, and Son was also on target.    

Tottenham have won five and drawn one of the last six games and have an away record of three wins and two draws this season, while Palace have picked up just the one win in the last six and have lost three alongside two goalless draws. 

Betting Tip

Fans at Manchester City, Arsenal, and Liverpool will be watching the Premier League 2023 updates keenly on Friday night in the hope that the Eagles can spring a surprise as, while the latest odds rank Spurs as fourth favourite, they have loftier ambitions.

Palace are at SBOTOP odds of 3.40, and the draw is at 3.59, while the Double Chance Palace or Draw is at 1.84. However, I don’t see a change of fortunes for either team anytime soon.

 

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