Tips Feed

With 43 goals conceded from 28 league matches, it’s understandable why Spurs are languishing near the bottom of the table. Defensively, they just haven’t been good enough. In fact, Spurs’ last clean sheet came on New Year’s Day - they have shipped 19 goals in their nine league matches since then.

Igor Tudor has only been at the helm for two games, but not much has changed so far - his side were easily beaten 4-1 in the North London Derby by Arsenal, and they suffered another 2-1 defeat to Fulham at the weekend. Defensive absentees haven’t helped the cause, and Cristian Romero will serve the final game of his suspension on Thursday night.

Crystal Palace are in a similar situation - they have struggled to restrict chances for their opponents, especially since Marc Guehi departed for Man City, and will be without their main centre back, Maxence Lacroix, for this midweek clash.

The Frenchman went from hero to zero on Sunday afternoon, as he opened the scoring after just four minutes at Old Trafford, before being sent off for a last man challenge after 56 minutes. It was a very harsh decision from the referee in the end, as Bruno Fernandes went on to convert the penalty, and Benjamin Sesko scored the decisive goal shortly after.

There were five cards shown in that game against Man United, and this selection also landed when Spurs last faced Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Once again, there were five cards shown in that match.

Spurs rank top of the Premier League charts this season for total yellow cards accumulated, averaging 2.61 per game. That figure rises to 3.0 when playing on home turf, highlighting how they struggle to exert control on games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

They have only won two of their 14 home matches in the Premier League this season, giving them the dismal points tally of just 10 - only Burnley and Wolves have picked up less points than Spurs in front of a home crowd this campaign. Palace were beaten 1-0 by Spurs in the reverse fixture, but they will see that record and be filled with confidence.

Ismaila Sarr was also absent from that game as he was at AFCON, but the Senegalese international looks set to start on Thursday night. Palace have carried a much greater threat in the final third since Sarr has returned to the first-team picture, and he has landed this selection in seven of his last eight starts across all competitions. Sarr has also scored three goals in that stretch, and this matchup against Spurs is a good one for him to improve that hit-rate.

Results haven’t gone the way Igor Tudor would have hoped so far, but the Croatian clearly seems to be demanding a lot from his players, and they have played with a bit more intensity and aggression. They racked up 17 fouls against Arsenal, and 14 infringements against Fulham last time out.

Daichi Kamada should have plenty of duels to contest in midfield here, and he should be up against the likes of Conor Gallagher and Joao Palhinha. Kamada was fouled twice at the weekend against Man United, and is averaging 1.26 fouls drawn per 90 this season. That figure rises to 1.41 when playing away, where he has hit this mark in six out of eight starts in the Premier League.

Kamada was absent from the reverse fixture due to injury, but his midfield partner, Adam Wharton, was fouled twice.

Radu Dragusin has had a much larger role in the Spurs side over the last few weeks, with Cristian Romero suspended and Kevin Danso also injured. Even though Danso was fit enough for the bench at the weekend, Dragusin should keep his spot in the starting XI here.

The Romanian international has started each of the last five Premier League games for Spurs, and he has racked up seven infringements. That includes one foul against Arsenal on Igor Tudor’s debut, and three fouls against Fulham last time out. He contested a total of 13 duels at the weekend, and also registered a tackle, highlighting how he was heavily involved on the defensive front.

The new manager wants his defenders to be aggressive to try to keep the pressure on their opponents, and that means Dragusin could be caught out of position more often and forced into fouls.

Radu Dragusin should find duels with Evann Guessand on Thursday night, and that is a matchup to keep an eye on. Jorgen Strand Larsen was replaced after 58 minutes at Old Trafford at the weekend, and he seemed to be struggling with an injury. With Jean-Philippe Mateta already out, Oliver Glasner might opt for Guessand to lead the line here.

The former Aston Villa man has slotted in nicely under Glasner, and has already scored two goals since arriving in January. He was fouled three times against Man United at the weekend, despite only featuring for the final 30 minutes. He also landed this selection in the Conference League prior to that, again, being fouled three times.

Guessand has looked to get on the ball as often as possible for Palace, and seems to have formed a nice partnership with Sarr. He draws an excellent matchup here against an aggressive Spurs side, and this price stands out.

Randal Kolo Muani was one of the better players for Spurs in the North London Derby, but he was unable to replicate that performance against Fulham last time out. Richarlison, who replaced Kolo Muani from the bench, made more of an impact, and was able to find the back of the net. The Brazil international made a strong case to be included in the starting XI on Thursday night.

Richarlison hasn’t yet started since returning from injury, but he did also make a cameo off the bench against Arsenal. Richarlison provided the assist for Archie Gray to score the only goal of the game against Palace in the reverse fixture. In addition to that, he had two shots, of which one hit the target, and also had two goals chalked off by VAR. He was able to pick gaps in the Palace backline, so he seems well suited for this matchup once again.