"Struggling a little bit" - Mark Lawrenson predicts winner of Crystal Palace vs Tottenham
Pundit Mark Lawrenson has backed Tottenham Hotspur to continue their unbeaten run against Crystal Palace in the Premier League on October 27.
Spurs are unbeaten in the Premier League after nine games this season and travel to Selhurst Park to face Palace on Friday. They lead the league table by two points and can extend it to five points with a win over the Eagles. The north London side come into the game on the back of a 2-0 win over Fulham at home last week.
Crystal Palace, meanwhile, suffered a 4-0 hammering against Newcastle United at St. James' Park in their last game. They are 11th in the table, with three wins, three draws, and three defeats.
In his prediction for Gameweek 10 of the Premier League for Paddy Power, Lawrenson backed Spurs to earn a hard-fought victory on Friday. He wrote:
"Tottenham just brushed Fulham aside on Monday night. Crystal Palace are struggling a little bit and were thumped 4-0 at Newcastle last week but we know what Roy Hodgson’s like if he loses a game, he’ll be more determined to stop the opposition next time. Tottenham are going well and I think they’ll win."
Last season, Spurs beat Crystal Palace 4-0 at Selhurst Park. Harry Kane scored a brace while Matt Doherty and Son Heung-min scored a goal in that game.
Ange Postecoglou provides injury update ahead of Crystal Palace vs Tottenham
In the pre-match press conference, Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou confirmed that Pape Matar Sarr and Ben Davies are fine to face Crystal Palace. Destiny Udogie, meanwhile, is a doubt and the decision on him will be made on Friday.
When asked about injury concerns, he said (via Football.London):
"The two main ones from the other night are Pape and Destiny. Pape is fine, he bounced back sort of 24 hours after the game. He had a bit of an illness but has trained well.
"Destiny we are still going to assess. Obviously it is a short turnaround from the other night. We'll have a look today, see how things go and make a decision after that. Everyone else has come through fine and is available."
Tottenham are also missing Ivan Perisic and Manor Solomon, who are out due to long-term injuries. Rodrigo Bentancur could return to the bench after recovering from his ACL injury.
Crystal Palace, meanwhile, have some big absentees like Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze due to injuries.