Crystal Palace travel across London looking to pile more misery on a relegation-battling Tottenham Hotspur side tonight (March 5th). Igor Tudor is already under pressure just two games into his reign as caretaker manager.
Spurs are enduring the worst Premier League campaign in the club’s history, finishing 17th last season. The change in manager has failed to turn the tide thus far, and defeats to Arsenal (4-1) and Fulham (2-1) are pushing them close to the drop zone.
Nottingham Forest’s 2-2 draw against Manchester City and West Ham United’s 1-0 win over Fulham make tonight a must-win game. Tudor’s men are just one point above 18th-placed West Ham heading into the encounter with Palace.
For Oliver Glasner’s men, they are unlikely to be dragged into the relegation scrap despite a difficult season. The Eagles have reached 35 points and sit 14th, seven points above the drop zone.
Crystal Palace team news
Glasner will be without four players tonight, with Maxence Lacroix missing the game through suspension. The French defender picked up a controversial red card in a 2-1 defeat to Manchester United last weekend.
Cheick Doucoure (knee), Eddie Nketiah (thigh), and Jean-Philippe Mateta (knee) will be absent due to injuries. Glasner is optimistic about Mateta returning to action before the international break at the end of the month.
The good news is that Jefferson Lerma has returned from injury and is included in the squad for the Spurs clash. His manager has ruled out the versatile Colombian starting, but he will be named on the bench.
Glasner told reporters (via the club’s official website):
“He’s available for 15-20 minutes. That means it is either Chadi [Riad] or Nathaniel Clyne will play [in defence]. They are the two options we have and one of them will start.”
It seems most likely that Chadi Riad will start in a back three tonight, given he replaced Lacroix in a 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers last month. There are no other injury issues to report and Spurs are the ones whose squad is depleted due to 10 first-team stars sitting on the sidelines.
Expected XI
Palace were unfortunate to lose against United last time out, and Lacroix’s red card changed the game. The Frenchman’s absence against Spurs will likely mean Riad joins Jaydee Canvot and Chris Richards in central defence.
Daichi Kamada and Adam Wharton can be expected to partner up in midfield against former Eagles loanee Conor Gallagher. They performed extremely well at Old Trafford last Sunday and could be the difference in North London.
Jorgen Strand Larsen will lead the line again, and all eyes will be on Brennan Johnson. Does Glasner start the Welshman against his former club or go with the in-form Evann Guessand?
Johnson will have a point to prove against the Lilywhites, and he produced an impressive assist for Lacroix’s headed goal against United. He might just be chomping at the bit to bag his first goal since making his £35m move in January.
Crystal Palace likely lineup: Henderson; Canvot, Richards, Riad; Munoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell; Sarr, Johnson; Strand Larsen
Prediction
If Palace can replicate their first-half performance against United tonight, they have a good chance of beating a beleaguered Spurs side. The relegation battlers have yet to win a single game in 2026, and that shouldn’t change.
A win is a real possibility for Glasner’s troops if the likes of Wharton can control proceedings. As the game takes place on the Lilywhites’ home turf, a draw is probably the likeliest outcome.
Prediction: Tottenham 2-2 Crystal Palace
