It is a welcome break from the stresses and strains of league duty for Palace to return to a competition that has seen their best form of late.
Having already seen off Southampton and Stoke City in the third and fourth rounds respectively, Palace will travel to White Hart Lane with nothing to lose against a Spurs side fighting on three fronts this season.
In the third round it took Tottenham a replay see off an impressive Leicester City side while they travelled to Colchester United in the fourth round and confidently knocked out the League One outfit.
Team News
Crystal Palace – There is still no return date for Kwesi Appiah (knee), James McArthur (ankle) or Jason Puncheon (hamstring) but the good news is that Joe Ledley, Yannick Bolasie and Dwight Gayle are all expected to be fit to play some part.
Tottenham Hotspur – French stopper Hugo Lloris (shoulder) is doubtful with an injury that kept him out of the midweek Europa League tie against Fiorentina. Jan Vertonghen (knee) is out until early April while Clinton N’Jie (knee) misses out.
Action Replay
The last meeting between the two sides was at Selhurst Park last month where the in form Tottenham ran out 3-1 winners. An own goal by Vertonghen gave the Eagles the lead but Harry Kane levelled things up before a stunner from Dele Alli gave them the lead. Nacer Chadli secured the points for the visitors with a third.
At White Hart Lane in September, the hosts took all three points courtesy of a solitary goal from South Korean Son Heung-Min in a game that the Eagles could not find a way past the inspired Lloris in goal.
It was January 2004 when these two teams last met each other in the FA Cup. The North London outfit ran out 3-0 winners courtesy of a Freddie Kanoute hat-trick against a Palace side that included the likes of Tony Popovic, Wayne Routledge and Andrew Johnson.
Form Guide
In the last six games between the two, Spurs have been dominant winning four while Palace have won just the one and one draw. On current form, Tottenham are on a roll having won five of their last six games and drawing the other. In contrast, Palace are on a terrible run having won one, drawn one and lost four.
Form Players
For Palace, Yohan Cabaye (7.31) and Scott Dann (7.10) lead the way while for Spurs Mousa Dembele (7.66) and Christian Eriksen (7.46) have starred of late.
One To Watch
Mousa Dembele
The Belgian midfielder has been in impressive form for Spurs this season especially when you consider he was on the list of players heading out of the club last summer. He has formed an excellent combative partnership with Dele Alli which has proved a big part of the success Spurs have experienced so far this season. The twenty-eight year old joined Fulham in 2010 after making his name in Dutch football with AZ Alkmaar. Spurs signed the Wilrijk born player in 2012 and has since gone on to make over a hundred appearances for them. He has over sixty full international caps after working his way through the Belgian youth set up.
Predictions
Final league position – 3rd
Regardless of how the next couple of months pan out for Spurs there is no doubting that it has been a terrific season for them. That will be no consolation if they end up with no silverware but the club have really made a statement and with Pochettino in charge, there is a real chance that they will be around at the right end of the table for years to come. Many are suggesting that this is the best chance of a Premier League title for some. A lot depends on how they deal with the distractions of the the FA Cup and the Europa League in conjunction with the assault on the Premier League.
- TEB prediction – draw
- Kevin De Vries prediction (see link below) – home win
- Who Scored prediction – home win
Betting Odds (courtesy of Paddy Power)
- Home 4/6
- Draw 27/10
- Away 9/2
Find our what our resident Spurs fan told TEB this week in ‘The Spurs View With A Difference’.
