Tottenham Hotspur will be buoyed by their hard-fought mid-week victory as they take the short trip across London to face Crystal Palace at 2pm today. Here is your Tottenham Hotspur predicted lineup for this London Derby as Spurs look to make it eight wins in their last nine matches.
Tottenham Hotspur Predicted Lineup vs Crystal Palace in London Derby
How Tottenham Have Lined Up Recently
Last time out, Ange Postecoglou heavily rotated his side for the Europa League, switching out a number of personnel in his favoured 4-3-3 formation.
Fraser Forster filled in for Guglielmo Vicario (who continues to play in the Premier League).
Postecoglou rested the entire defence bar Destiny Udogie, with Ben Davies, Radu Dragusin and 18-year-old Archie Gray making up the back four. Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Pedro Porro have been the preferred partners for Udogie in defence over the past few games.
Lucas Bergvall made a third Europa League appearance for the season, helping to rest the (almost) unplayable Dejan Kulusevski. Kulusevski has been a mainstay in midfield supported by James Maddison and a combination of either Yves Bissouma or Rodrigo Bentancur.
There was another young face up top in mid-week for Spurs, who put in such an impressive performance that Maddison described it as having “Neymar on the wing”. Mikey Moore started vs AZ Alkmaar, giving Postecoglou another option going forward. Although, Ange has affirmed that he needs to be ‘careful’ with the 17-year-old to ensure his progress isn’t hampered by throwing him in to the deep end too early.
Tottenham have been able to mix up their front three, with Dominic Solanke usually leading the line in the middle (deputised by Richarlison last time out), flanked by Brennan Johnson and Son Heung-Min. Timo Werner has also been featured in the Spurs’ last few matches but has come under fire for his lack of end product.
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Tottenham’s Recent Form and Tactics
Despite the change in personnel, Tottenham have stuck to their style of attacking football that is beginning to flourish under Postecoglou. Their recent run of results has been positive on the whole, but the odd defeat tends to mar the brilliant work this Spurs side is doing.
Tottenham have won all but one of their last eight matches, with the defeat being a crazy second half against Brighton. While the Seagulls were deadly in punishing Spurs with three goals in less than 20 minutes, it was the Lilywhites who hit the self-destruct button after a really dominant first half display.
‘Ange Ball’ at its best is when Tottenham play with confidence, a high-line and plenty of pressing; the attacking play is expansive and makes the most of the in-form attacking players like Kulusevski and Johnson.
A recent tactical change that stands out is when Spurs were 1-0 down vs West Ham. Postecoglou spotted the need for some more steel and power in the midfield and made the bold move to sub James Maddison for Pape Matar Sarr. The Senegalese midfielder made a big impact, helping Bissouma to turn the tide in the match, grabbing a key assist for Son Heung-Min in the 60th minute.
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Tottenham Injuries and Suspensions to Consider
The key update that Postecoglou gave at his press conference was that Son Heung-Min is unlikely to feature against Palace this weekend, as he is “still not right or feeling 100%.” The South Korean did not train after the Europa League fixture.
There were no other issues from the Alkmaar clash, except for some general fatigue for some of the deputising players.
Tottenham Hotspur Predicted Lineup vs Newcastle United
GK: Guglielmo Vicario
RB: Pedro Porro
CB: Micky van de Ven
CB: Cristian Romero
LB: Destiny Udogie
MF: James Maddison
MF: Rodrigo Bentancur
MF: Dejan Kulusevski
FW: Mikey Moore
FW: Dominic Solanke
FW: Brennan Johnson