The final day of a peculiar season is upon us as the Eagles host a Spurs side who are fighting for European qualification. It has been an odd campaign for more reasons than one but none more so than the three month pause along with the terrible form Palace are ending with.
DATE
26th July 2020
KICK OFF
4pm
VENUE
Selhurst Park Stadium, Holmesdale Road, Selhurst, London SE25 6PU
LAST TIME
Two first half goals for Palace sealed all three points when these two sides last met back in January 2019. A 9th minute goal by Connor Wickham set the Eagles on their way. The lead was doubled before the interval by Andros Townsend who converted successfully against his former team from the penalty spot.
OFFICIALS
REFEREE – Andre Marriner
ASSISTANTS – Neil Davies, Graham Kane, Tim Robinson (fourth official)
VAR – Andy Madley, Simon Beck
REPLACEMENT OFFICIAL – Michael Webb
INJURY CONCERNS
PALACE – James Tomkins, Gary Cahill, Patrick van Aanholt, Luka Milivojevic, Mamadou Sakho
SPURS – Dele Alli, Tanguy Ndombele
SUSPENSIONS
Christian Benteke
DISCIPLINE
Red cards – Son Heung-Min (2), Serge Aurier (1), Mamadou Sakho (1), Luka Milivojevic (1), Christian Benteke (1)
Yellow cards (5+) – Luka Milivojevic (12), Harry Winks (9), Moussa Sissoko (8), James McCarthy (8), Ben Davies (6), Davinson Sanchez (6), Giovani Lo Celso (6), Toby Alderweireld (6), James McArthur (6), Jordan Ayew (6), James Tomkins (5), Wilfried Zaha (5)
FORM GUIDE
Last FIVE meetings between the two sides;
- 14/09/2019 Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 Crystal Palace
- 03/04/2019 Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Crystal Palace
- 27/01/2019 Crystal Palace 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur
- 10/11/2018 Crystal Palace 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur
- 25/02/2018 Crystal Palace 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Last FIVE results for Palace;
- 20/07/2020 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 Crystal Palace
- 16/07/2020 Crystal Palace 0-2 Manchester United
- 12/07/2020 Aston Villa 2-0 Crystal Palace
- 07/07/2020 Crystal Palace 2-3 Chelsea
- 04/07/2020 Leicester City 3-0 Crystal Palace
Last FIVE results for Spurs;
- 19/07/2020 Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Leicester City
- 15/07/2020 Newcastle United 1-3 Tottenham Hotspur
- 12/07/2020 Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Arsenal
- 09/07/2020 Bournemouth 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur
- 06/07/2020 Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Everton
RECORD AGAINST SPURS
- Played 50
- Won 10
- Drawn 13
- Lost 27
FORM PLAYERS
Top two rated players from each team so far this season according to Who Scored;
- Harry Kane 7.34
- Son Heung-Min 7.27
- Wilfried Zaha 7.00
- Jordan Ayew 6.92
ONE TO WATCH
SON HEUNG-MIN
Former clubs – FC Seoul, Hamburger SV, Bayer Leverkusen
The 28-year-old South Korean has had quite a season with plenty of goals, sendings off and national service. It will end up being a disappointing season for the North London side but the form of the South Korean has been vital to keep then in with a shout of Europe with one game left to play. Palace will remember all too well the damage he did in the reverse fixture in a matter of minutes earlier in the season.
KEY CLASH
SCOTT DANN v HARRY KANE
With the England striker back among the goals, it will down to the Palace veteran to keep him at bay in this game. It will be tough as Dann will also need to marshall the back line with fellow defenders dropping like flies leaving him the most qualified to keep everything together. There is no doubting that it will be tough but the former Blackburn defender has been in good form lately even if Palace have not.
PRE MATCH STATS
- SCORERS – Harry Kane (17), Jordan Ayew (9)
- ASSISTS – Son Heung-Min (10), James McArthur (3), Wilfried Zaha (3)
- PASSES – Toby Alderweireld (1923), Luka Milivojevic (1431)
- TACKLES – Serge Aurier (89), James McArthur (83)
- TOUCHES – Toby Alderweireld (2300), Wilfried Zaha (2109)
- SHOTS – Harry Kane (80), Son Heung-Min (80), Wilfried Zaha (60)
- CLEAN SHEETS – Vicente Guaita (10), Hugo Lloris (6)
- SAVES – Vicente Guaita (109), HUgo Lloris (80)
- PUNCHES – Vicente Guaita (22), Hugo Lloris (10)
- DISPOSSESSED – Wilfried Zaha (144), Lucas Moura (71)
- FOULS – Jordan Ayew (58), Moussa Sissoko (44)
PRE MATCH FACTS
- Palace have lost 9 successive league games against Tottenham, their longest losing streak versus a single opponent in top-flight history.
- Palace have not scored a league goal against Spurs since a 3-1 home loss in January 2016, and that was an own goal.
- Tottenham have won 11 of the past 13 league meetings, with their solitary defeat coming at Selhurst Park in January 2015.
- Palace can equal their club league record of 8 consecutive defeats.
- Tottenham are unbeaten in 5 league matches, winning the last 3. They have won 4 of their past 5 fixtures, as many as in their previous 13 games.
- The current 7-match losing sequence by Palace is the longest of Roy Hodgson’s Premier League career. They have failed to score in 6 of those defeats.
- The Eagles have been beaten in 5 of their past 7 matches at Selhurst Park.
- Palace have won each of their past 4 final day home fixtures while Spurs have lost their final league fixture just once in the past 9 seasons (W7, D1).
- Spurs are guaranteed to finish with their lowest points total since 2008-09.
- Palace have scored only 30 league goals, 3 fewer than their lowest tally in any season.
- The Eagles have scored first-half goals in just 9 of their 37 league matches.
- Roy Hodgson is winless in all 3 Premier League matches as a manager against Jose Mourinho (D1, L2).
PREDICTION
We have banked on Palace to end their losing streak pretty much every game so far so one last chance to make amends and admit defeat to a team that need the win far more. Having said that, the pressure is all on Spurs to win but there could be a response from the Eagles after the lock in after the defeat to Wolves on Monday night where Roy Hodgson shared what looked like a few home truths with the players.
Final score: 2-1 to Spurs
BETTING ODDS
- Home – 5/1
- Draw – 16/5
- Away – 1/2
- Both teams to score – 3/4
