Team news, statistics and predictions ahead of Tottenham-Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Boxing Day; kick-off 15:00.
Team news
Tottenham manager Antonio Conte has no new injury problems ahead of Santo Stefano’s visit to Crystal Palace.
Ryan Sessegnon had a muscle problem during Spurs’ last Premier League match at home against Liverpool on Sunday and will miss again.
Cristian Romero (hamstring) was already sidelined and remains absent, but Tottenham are in good health otherwise and no new cases of Covid-19.
Crystal Palace he will certainly be without James McArthur for the journey through London due to a hamstring injury.
Nathan Ferguson is another not up to par after nearly two years of absence, but recently returned to training in the first team.
Eagles boss Patrick Vieira revealed at his pre-match press conference that the club had “a couple of cases” this week, but did not disclose whether it was the players or Selhurst Park staff who contracted Covid. -19.
How to follow
Follow Tottenham vs Crystal Palace on our live match blog. The highlights will also be published on Sky Sport’s digital platforms and on the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel starting at 5.15pm on Boxing Day.
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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Crystal Palace’s draw with Southampton in the Premier League.
Jones Knows Prediction
Tottenham’s performance in the 2-2 draw with Liverpool was further proof that Antonio Conte is at the helm this season. In a short amount of time it made them incredibly more efficient in both boxes. This should make them too strong for Palace, who has only won one of their last six Premier League games.
Not sure if it’s because he’s having trouble keeping up with the game so he misses out on a lot of key incidents or maybe it’s just his smiling demeanor, but referee Jon Moss isn’t one he’s looking to pocket this season. He has only received 21 yellow cards in 10 Premier League games this season and six of those came in his last match between Manchester City and Wolves.
I can see the argument for low cards in this bout. Tottenham are defending deeper under Antonio Conte which means they are a very difficult team to build counter-attacks against. Counters and cards go hand in hand. Palace may be fouled against Spurs counters, but overall, this should be a game played in a controlled manner. In 10 of Moss’s last 13 Premier League games, the game has produced fewer than 40 yellow cards and I’d be surprised if that were any different. Back that scenario at 11/10 with Sky Bet.
SCORE FORECAST: 2-1
BET ANGLE: Under 40 yellow card (11/10 with Sky Bet)
Eight statistics
- Tottenham have lost only one of 12 Premier League home games to Crystal Palace (W7 D4), losing 1-0 in November 1997. They have won their last six league games at home to the Eagles by an aggregate score of 13- 1.
- After a 3-0 win at Selhurst Park in the reverse match, Crystal Palace are looking to win two consecutive league games against Tottenham for the first time in this 46th match of this kind.
- Tottenham are unbeaten in their last 14 league games in Boxing Day (W11 D3) since a 2-0 defeat at Portsmouth in 2003-04. It is the longest running unbeaten run on this day anywhere within the top four categories of English football.
- Crystal Palace have only won one of their last six Premier League games in Santo Stefano (3N S2), beating West Ham 2-1 in 2019-20.
- Tottenham have lost five of their last six Premier League London derby games (1 win) and have won fewer points this season than any other team (3).
- Crystal Palace have scored seven goals in the last three Premier League London derbies, as many as in the previous 10 such games combined. The Eagles are unbeaten in their last four Premier League matches against London sides (1W, 3 draws), and the last time was longest unbeaten in the top flight between April and November 1990 (7 games).
