Crystal Palace are back to Premier League action this weekend to what will be their third game within a week as the Festive period gets underway with mixed results.
On Tuesday night, Neil Warnock’s side tried their best but their efforts on goal weren’t sufficient enough to have any affect on the scoreline as his side managed to get 17 shots away with only a handful proving a challenge, showing a need for a clinical striker to be bought by Crystal Palace in the Janaury transfer window.
As a result, the Eagles will be looking to push on from Tuesday night by using it as a motivation to do better as they have done in recent fixtures against Swansea and Liverpool with a draw against the strong-passing Welsh side and a full three-points against last season’s title challengers. Sitting in 15th and two points from the relegation zone Neil Warnock will be looking to push his side up the table and away from the minimal points difference in the bottom half of the table near the drop-zone.
The Eagles didn’t have much luck against Tottenham last season with the North London side completing the double against a Ian Holloway and Tony Pulis combination, can Neil Warnock change the recent history between the two sides? Only time will tell.
Last Time Out: Tottenham Hotspur 2 – 0 Crystal Palace
The game at White Hart Lane was memorable for a number of reasons, Jason Puncheon missing a penalty in the opening stages of the game by kicking the ball higher and higher to the extent meme creators loved it; despite that, Crystal Palace dominated the early exchanges within the game and the first half with a number of opportunities on goal.
Tottenham came out firing in the second half though and it was their sheer determination that won them the game with the first goal being scored by Christian Eriksen who made the most of a flick-on by Emmanuel Adebayor and slotted the ball past Speroni after bringing down the ball from his team-mates pass. The second goal looked like it was going to happen before this fixture as Jermain Defoe who was off to Toronto put the game to bed by firing the ball into the net after Aaron Lennon helped with tricky-dribbling towards the area.
The statistics show that the scoreline wasn’t the easiest to get for the hosts though as Crystal Palace managed to put together the most shots on goal, the most crosses alongside the amount of saves that were made by both goalkeepers. In the graphic below, the shots from the last game can be seen with Palace kicking from right-t0-left and Spurs left-to-right; the Eagles managed to tally 14 shots on goal in the afternoon with one of those being the penalty by Jason Puncheon whereas the hosts only managed to get ten shots in with many being blocked, going wide or hitting the post.
Alongside the shots, Tony Pulis’ side managed to put in six more crosses than their opposition with Palace’s being the more threatening with headers going towards goal for most of the afternoon alongside the wasteful ones that didn’t reach any of the players. Speroni was also the least busier of the two goalkeepers, only being forced to two saves for the two goals he conceded whereas Tottenham’s Hugo Loris faced more shots with a total of four.
Crystal Palace could face an uphill battle like they did in the second half of the same fixture last season or they could put their chances to bed, unlike they did at White Hart Lane last season and more recently against Aston Villa on Tuesday night at Selhurst Park. A result is possible for the Eagles on Saturday but they will have to be at their best to see of a side that will be challenging to remain in Europe next season, even at this stage of the season.
What Are The Stats, Stats Man?
– Tottenham completed the double over Crystal Palace last season in the Premier League.
– The Eagles’ only win in the Premier League at White Hart Lane was back in November 1997 when Neil Shipperly scored the winning goal.
– Crystal Palace have lost their last two league games against Tottenham without scoring; Spurs haven’t won three games in a row against the Eagles since November 1989.
– This season, Tottenham have lost four Premier League games at White Hart Lane with only West Brom suffering from more home defeats.
– Neil Warnock’s side have only managed to pick up one win away from home in their last seven Premier League games – drawing and losing three.
– In Spurs’ last seven league games, at least three goals have been scored in each.
– Crystal palace have lost all three of their London derbies in the Premier League this season – the same amount as QPR.
– Pochettino’s side have conceded one goal at White Hart Lane in the final 30 minutes of the game.
– The Eagles have the joint-second worst defensive record away from home, conceding 13 goals.
– Tottenham have conceded the highest amount of penalties this season in the Premier League with five.
– Crystal Palace could tally up 100 points away from home in the Premier League this weekend with a draw, as the South London side have won 99 points from 106 Premier League games away from Selhurst (W23, D30, L53).
– Christian Eriksen has created 28 chances this season but has failed to provide an assist, giving him the worst chance:assist ratio in the league.
– Palace’s skipper, Mile Jedinak has scored three of his sides’ last six league goals.
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