‘Stuttered a bit’ – Chris Sutton predicts exciting scoreline for Spurs vs Crystal Palace

Chris Sutton expects Tottenham Hotspur to brush Crystal Palace aside this afternoon, handing Oliver Glasner his first defeat as Eagles boss.

There is no doubt that Spurs would have rather faced the old version of Palace, who looked completely devoid of ideas under Roy Hodgson until a couple of weeks ago.

A managerial change generally tends to raise motivations among the squad and that was certainly evident last week as the South London club eased to a 3-0 win against Burnley in the Austrian’s first game in charge.

However, Ange Postecoglou will be worried about his own side rather than looking at the opposition and the 58-year-old will want to see a response from his players after their disappointing showing against Wolves.

Tottenham vs Crystal Palace score prediction

Tottenham are five points behind Aston Villa in fourth place with a game in hand and Sutton believes that the Lilywhites will close down that gap before Unai Emery’s men take to the field against Luton Town in the late kick-off later today.

The former Celtic striker told BBC Sport: “Tottenham are still chasing a Champions League spot and, if they get it, it would represent a magnificent season – especially when you think about the way they finished the previous campaign.

“I didn’t give them a chance of making the top four at the start because I thought it would take a while for Ange Postecoglou to implement his ideas, but that has happened quicker than I expected.

“As for Palace, well their new manager Oliver Glasner got off to a great start by beating Burnley in his first game and but this is a much tougher test. Spurs have stuttered a little bit in the past few weeks and dropped points, but they have got superior players.

“Glasner has been talking about his footballing philosophy and how it is all about scoring goals, but Tottenham are pretty good at that, and if they can find their rhythm then they will come out on top. Prediction: 3-0.”

Spurs Web Opinion

I am not sure this game will be as straightforward as some fans and pundits think. Palace have the pace and power to hurt Spurs on the counter-attack and unless we start quickly and take the lead early, we could be in for another tricky afternoon.

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