There will be fond memories of the visit of Spurs to South London earlier in the season which will likely be fresh in the minds of the hosts ahead of this fixture but a stuttering campaign so far for the North London outfit may be an opportunity for the Eagles.
DATE
26th December 2021
KICK OFF
3pm
VENUE
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, 782 High Road, London N17 0BX
LAST TIME
Palace last made the short trip across London back in March. Gareth Bale gave the hosts the lead before Christian Benteke levelled things up straight after the break. Bale grabbed his second to put Spurs back into the lead followed by a quick first third courtesy of Harry Kane which effectively sealed the game. Kane got his second later on to end any hopes the visitors had of getting back into the game.
WHO SCORED MAN OF THE MATCH – Harry Kane (10.00)
OFFICIALS
Referee: Jonathan Moss. Assistants: Marc Perry, Timothy Wood. Fourth official: Stephen Martin. VAR: Simon Hooper. Assistant VAR: Matthew Wilkes.
TEAM NEWS
PALACE – Nathan Ferguson is still working his way back to fitness while James McArthur is not far off but neither will feature.
SPURS – Cristian Romero (thigh) and Ryan Sessegnon are both out while Bryan Gil and Dane Scarlett are struggling with illness and are not expected to be involved.
DISCIPLINARY
RED CARDS – Japhet Tanganga (1)
YELLOW CARDS (4+) – Joel Ward (5), Oliver Skipp (5), Conor Gallagher (4), Cristian Romero (4), Marc Guehi (4)
FORM GUIDE
Last FIVE meetings between the two sides;
- 11/09/21 Palace 3-0 Spurs
- 07/03/21 Spurs 4-1 Palace
- 13/12/20 Palace 1-1 Spurs
- 26/07/20 Palace 1-1 Spurs
- 14/09/19 Spurs 4-0 Palace
Last FIVE results for Palace:
- 15/12/21 Palace 2-2 Saints
- 12/12/21 Palace 3-1 Everton
- 05/12/21 United 1-0 Palace
- 30/12/21 Leeds 1-0 Palace
- 27/11/21 Palace 1-2 Villa
Last FIVE results for Spurs;
- 22/12/21 Spurs 2-1 West Ham
- 19/12/21 Spurs 2-2 Liverpool
- 05/12/21 Spurs 3-0 Norwich
- 02/12/21 Spurs 2-0 Brentford
- 25/11/21 NS Mura 2-1 Spurs
RECORD AGAINST SPURS
- Played 54
- Won 11
- Drawn 15
- Lost 28
FORM PLAYERS ACCORDING TO WHO SCORED
- Conor Gallagher 7.54
- Pierre-Emile Holbjerg 7.16
- Lucas Moura 7.12
- James McArthur 6.94
ONE TO WATCH
HARRY KANE
FORMER CLUBS – Ridgeway Rovers, Arsenal, Watford, Leyton Orient (loan), Millwall (loan), Norwich City (loan), Leicester City (loan)
The amazing statistic after the victory by the Eagles earlier in the season was that Kane did not have a touch in the Palace penalty area or a shot on goal. The feeling is that this game will be very different just when the England captain has found some form for his club, however, he should probably be serving a suspension for this game after his tough challenge against Liverpool went unpunished.
KEY CLASH
JOACHIM ANDERSEN v HUENG-MIN SON
The South Korean often has a game against the Eagles but the defence if looking very different this season and it will be interesting to see how the likes of Andersen and Guehi content with him, Kane and Moura.
PRE-MATCH FACTS
- Spurs have lost just 1 of their 12 league home games against Palace (won 7, drawn 4), losing 1-0 in November 1997. They’ve won their last 6 league games at home against the Eagles
- Following their 3-0 victory at Selhurst Park in the reverse fixture, Palace are looking to win back-to-back league games against Spurs for the first time in what will be their 46th meeting
- Spurs have lost 5 of their last 6 league London derby matches (won 1), and have won fewer points in such fixtures this season than any other side (3)
- The Eagles are unbeaten in their last 4 league meetings with London sides (won 1, drawn 3), last having a longer such run without defeat in the top flight between April and November 1990 (7 games)
PRE-MATCH STATS
- GOALS – Gallagher (6 – 12th in PL)
- ASSISTS – Gallagher (3 – 16th in PL)
- PASSES – Guehi (1100 – 8th in PL)
- TACKLES – Mitchell (46 – 2nd in PL)
- TOUCHES – Guehi (1280 – 9th in PL)
- SHOTS – Benteke (35 – 17th in PL)
- SAVES – Guaita (47 – 10th in PL)
DID YOU KNOW?
The club was formed in 1882 when boys from Hotspur Cricket Club formed Hotspur FC so that they could play a sport during the winter. The name was changed to Tottenham Hotspur in 1884 to avoid any confusion with another club, London Hotspur.
PREDICTION
The hosts have had a couple of tough games heading into this fixture after an enforced couple of weeks lay off due to COVID postponements whereas Palace has had a free week having not played at Watford. What that means, who knows but hopefully that has allowed plenty of preparation for this Boxing Day game , a fixture that has not particularly been kind to the Eagles but we fancy taking a point.
FINAL SCORE: 1-1
BETTING ODDS
- Home – 7/10
- Draw – 11/4
- Away – 15/4
- Both teams to score – 4/5
RESOURCES
