Spurs v Crystal Palace: Time to Clip the Eagles’ Wings

by Matthew Harris · Published 12th September 2019 · Updated 24th March 2020

The international break is over for another month and Spurs are back in action this Saturday as they host Crystal Palace. As a traditional, 3pm kick off, this is our first game of the 2019/20 season to not be shown live and it may actually be nice to go under the radar for a change.

Making the short trip over the river are a Palace side who have started the campaign brightly. The Eagles sit in fourth place with seven points from four games and can be a tough prospect for any side as both Manchester clubs have found out in recent months.

Can Spurs win their first league game since the opening day or are 90 minutes of frustration lying in wait?

Team News

We’ve all seen the news that our summer signing, Argentine midfielder Giovani Lo Celso returned from international duty with a hip injury and he won’t be available until the end of October at best. After a promising substitute appearance against Arsenal last time out, Lo Celso may well have been pressing for a start against Crystal Palace but instead, he’s in the physio’s room.

Elsewhere, early reports suggest that Kyle Walker-Peters and Juan Foyth are out of contention but that Eric Dier may just be fit enough to return and cover the troublesome right back position. Tanguy Ndombele and Ryan Sessegnon may also be ready to come into the squad for Saturday’s game.

Match Odds

Tottenham are clear favourites as you would expect and, if you are looking to bet on the home win, there isn’t too much value to be had. Spurs can be claimed at 4/11 with most bookmakers including Coral and Betway at the time of writing.

The remaining options start with the draw which is quoted at best odds of 17/4 with Betway while a win for Crystal Palace is out at 17/2 with Unibet and 888Sport. Those are the market numbers so, if you are looking for bigger profits, you can either bet against the home win or, you could consider the usual list of side markets.

Other Side Bets

Harry Kane

Harry Kane enjoyed a productive international week with England and our main striker is the clear favourite to open the scoring on Saturday. Kane notched four goals in two games and can be picked up at 47/20 with 888Sport and Unibet to find the net first.

Behind Harry, our attacking midfielders Son Heung-Min and Lucas Moura can both be backed at 9/2 with BetFred while Erik Lamela follows at a best of 15/2 with BetFred again.

Tottenham players are largely dominant in this section with Christian Eriksen at best odds of 8/1 with 10Bet and Dele Alli at a top price of 9/1 with BetFred. Crystal Palace’s first representative then arrives in the shape of Wilfried Zaha at 12/1 with Black Type while Connor Wickham and Jordan Ayew can both be picked up at a best of 14/1 with Black Type and BetFred.

While they may be in a lofty position at this early stage of the competition, Crystal Palace have scored just three times in four league games. The Eagles also drew a blank in the EFL Cup against our upcoming opponents Colchester United so that doesn’t provide a good indicator for the Both Teams to Score bet.

BTTS is available for this game at a top price of 10/11 with BetFred and Black Type and while we would have liked to see it touch Even Money, that’s probably as long as we could have expected.

In the Overs and Unders betting, Over 2.5 goals is on offer at 8/13 with Bethard but you can be braver and take the Over 3.5 option at best odds of 13/8 with Unibet and 888Sport.

Finally, a Correct Score of Spurs 3 Crystal Palace 1 looks a value pick at a best of 11/1 with Bethard.

Dangerman

We mentioned that Palace have just scored those three goals so, in order to have climbed into the top four, they must have kept things tight at the back. They have, in fact, conceded just twice – once to Aston Villa and once to Sheffield United in their only defeat to date.

So the defence needs to be cracked but where is the threat coming forward? Of those three goals, Jordan Ayew has found the net twice and clearly Spurs will need to take note of that tally. Meanwhile, had the Eagles been looking for a sensible asking price in the summer, Wilfried Zaha may well have been playing elsewhere.

Instead, he remains at Selhurst Park and, with Spurs supposedly among a number of long term admirers, they will be fully aware of the threat Zaha poses in front of goal and with his link up play. We’re tipping Both Teams to Score in this match and if Palace are to find the net, Zaha at 21/5 with Unibet for an anytime goal looks a decent shout.

Head to Head

Spurs and Crystal Palace have run into each other on surprisingly few occasions so far. In fact, Saturday’s game between the two sides is just the 56th in all competitions since they first met back in 1906.

In that time, Tottenham have enjoyed the upper hand, winning 30 as opposed to Palace’s 12 victories while there have been 13 draws.

Recent results are very positive and in Premier League terms, Spurs have won all of the last eight previous encounters in a run going back to September 2015. However, in that time, The Eagles have dumped us out of the FA Cup twice – most recently through last season’s 2-0 defeat.

Verdict

As always, we’re not going to get suckered into picking the home win but clearly we should be taking three points from this type of fixture. Palace’s goal stats are interesting – showing that they can be tight at the back while looking to nick a goal on the break so we’re just starting to get nightmare flashbacks of the Newcastle game.

Having scoured those head to heads, there are a number of recent 1-0 wins and that could be the pattern tomorrow. However, we’re going to back something a little more fluid with lots of goals, including Both Teams to Score and Sonny to get his first of the season. A win would certainly be welcome after a mixed start to the campaign.