Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino will be hoping to return to winning ways when his side host Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
While Spurs are without a victory since the opening day, Roy Hodgson's Palace will be looking for their third league win on the bounce after triumphs against Manchester United and Aston Villa.
Tottenham Hotspur
© Reuters
Despite finally ending their run of 517 days without signing a player in the summer, it has been a stop/start beginning to the new season for Tottenham.
Tanguy Ndombele did score an impressive debut strike against Aston Villa to help his new team on their way to an opening day victory, but he and his fellow new recruits Giovani Lo Celso and Ryan Sessegnon have all found themselves on the treatment table at Hotspur Way early on in their Tottenham careers.
Mauricio Pochettino's side lost seven of their last 12 league matches in the 2018-19 season, and the disjointed nature of those performances seems to have carried into the new campaign.
The Lilywhites slumped to a stodgy 1-0 defeat to Newcastle in their most recent outing at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, struggling to create chances despite having the bulk of possession.
There was an improved performance in the first half against Arsenal at the Emirates, before they threw away their hard earned 2-0 lead in disappointing fashion for Pochettino.
The Tottenham manager has been trying to gather the positives from that performance, however this match against Crystal Palace is more likely to follow the pattern of the Newcastle game. The onus will be on Spurs to break down a stubborn Palace rearguard that will be cautious with when they decide to try and score, fearful of leaving spaces for the counter.
Tottenham actually find themselves below their south London counterparts in the embryonic Premier League table and will be desperate to change that come 5pm on Saturday.
Any pressure on Spurs was alleviated after the draw at Arsenal, but anything less than three points on Saturday will only further fuel their doubters.
Recent form: WDLD
Crystal Palace
© Reuters
Crystal Palace have had a typically mixed and unpredictable start to the 2019-20 season.
An opening day bore-draw with Everton, followed by a dismal showing in a 1-0 defeat at Sheffield United, led to queries as to whether Hodgson's side could break teams down, particularly with star-man Wilfried Zaha on the periphery following his deadline-day transfer request.
However, then came their stunning 2-1 victory at Old Trafford - Manchester United had gone into that game having battered Chelsea 4-0 and picked up a decent 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Hodgson's side were not phased a jot though, and produced a disciplined counter-attacking display that stunned their hosts, with Patrick van Aanholt scoring the winning goal in stoppage time.
This unexpected win meant that Palace are now the opposition team to have most recently won at Old Trafford, the Etihad, Anfield and the Emirates in the Premier League.
Having lost 2-0 in the inaugural match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back in April, Palace would dearly love to add Spurs' new home to their list of scalps.
After the United win came a typical fall back to Earth for the Eagles, losing on penalties to League Two Colchester United after a side featuring the likes of Christian Benteke, Andros Townsend and for the last half an hour Zaha produced a woefully toothless display.
They bounced back immediately with a cagey 1-0 victory over Aston Villa at Selhurst Park which took them into the top four, a position they would love to keep hold of beyond Saturday afternoon.
Recent form: DLWW
Recent form (all competitions): DLWLW
Team News
© Reuters
Once again Tottenham have struggled with injuries early on in this new campaign.
Summer signing Giovani Lo Celso has yet to start a match for his new club, and it is likely he now won't until November at the earliest having picked up an injury on Argentina duty.
Juan Foyth remains unavailable with an ankle problem picked up against Bayern Munich in pre-season.
There is a chance, however, that Saturday could see the returns of Tanguy Ndombele, Eric Dier, Kyle Walker-Peters and Ryan Sessegnon. The foursome have all spent much of the season's early stages on the treatment table.
Roy Hodgson's injury issues are all in the defensive department, with centre-backs James Tomkins, Scott Dann and Martin Kelly all unavailable for Saturday's match.
Neither side have any players suspended.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Sanchez, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Winks, Sissoko; Lamela, Eriksen, Son; Kane
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Guaita; Ward, Cahill, Sakho, Van Aanholt; Zaha, McArthur, Milivojevic, Kouyate, Schlupp; Ayew
Head To Head
Tottenham have a curious habit of winning this fixture 1-0, having done so five times in a row until Palace broke the streak in the FA Cup in January.
Hodgson's Eagles dumped Spurs out of the Cup on that occasion, winning 2-0 in a match that saw Kieran Trippier miss a penalty.
The two sides' last meeting was a special one that saw the opening of the brand new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in April. Son Heung-min scored the first ever goal at Spurs' new home, before Christian Eriksen sealed a 2-0 win late on.
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Crystal Palace
This fixture does have a habit of finishing 1-0 to Tottenham, and a cagey victory by a single goal margin could well happen again on Saturday. Palace will be stubborn, but Spurs should just about have enough to break through and win the match.
No Data Analysis info
