With the international break now done and dusted, Tottenham return to Premier League action later this afternoon as they welcome high flying Crystal Palace to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Roy Hodgson’s men currently sit in the fourth spot in the Premier League table having registered impressive wins away at Old Trafford and Villa Park already this season.
However, Spurs do have some good news ahead of the match as the international break gave the likes of Eric Dier, Tanguy Ndombele, Kyle Walker-Peters and Ryan Sessegnon time to regain their fitness.
With Spurs coming in off the back of three games without a win and zero clean sheets, matched with Palace’s lightning-fast counter-attack with Townsend and Zaha, it could be a tough one to predict.
However, Michael Owen has had a go (BetVictor – quoted by Football London), stating that Spurs will edge it today: ‘Back-to-back league wins for Palace including a famous win at Old Trafford, but I expect to see Spurs edge a tight London derby on home soil.
‘Mauricio Pochettino’s side lost their last home game to Newcastle and let a two-goal lead slip at the Emirates last time.
‘They badly need to return to winning ways ahead of their trip to Olympiacos in the Champions League on Wednesday.’
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Mark Lawrenson meanwhile has predicted a comfortable 2-0 win for Spurs despite the Lilywhites not going into the game in the best of the form (BBC).
He said: ‘Tottenham have not really hit their stride yet, but they are still a good side and it is obviously a boost for them that they kept hold of Christian Eriksen.
‘This should be a good game, because Crystal Palace are flying high at the moment and have already won at Old Trafford this season.
‘It will be up to Spurs to break them down.’
Spurs Web Opinion
Crystal Palace are one of the best sides in the Premier League at sitting back and playing on the counter-attack. It is almost certain that this will turn out to be another cagey affair. An early goal for Spurs will go a long way towards settling down the players’ nerves and giving them the confidence they need to play their football.
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