Tottenham XI v Crystal Palace: Ange Postecoglou to axe Ben Davies
Tottenham will look to bounce back from defeat when they host Crystal Palace on Saturday 2 March.
Spurs are set to welcome Oliver Glasner’s new-look Palace side to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this weekend for a big London derby.
Ange Postecoglou’s side were beaten 2-1 at home by Wolves last time out (Saturday 17 February) and cannot afford to drop points against the Eagles.
Spurs find themselves five points behind fourth-place Aston Villa having played a game less, and with a crunch clash against Unai Emery’s side at Villa Park to follow, the North London side will be keen to build some momentum ahead of their trip to the West Midlands.
However, that won’t be a straightforward task. Palace will arrive in North London full of confidence after their 3-0 win against Burnley at Selhurst Park on Saturday 24 February in Glasner’s first match in charge of the South London side.
Postecoglou will need to ensure that he gets his team selection spot on if the hosts are to have any chance of securing maximum points and keeping themselves alive in the race for UEFA Champions League football.
Will Destiny Udogie start for Tottenham against Crystal Palace?
Guglielmo Vicario will expect to keep his place between the sticks after an eventful afternoon against Wolves during which he made five saves, three from inside the box, and completed 97 per cent of his passes (Sofascore).
Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven will likely be the chosen centre-back pairing against Palace, with the former winning three of his five ground duels and completing 92 per cent of his passes against Gary O’Neil’s side, while the latter had a particularly impressive afternoon as he completed 98 per cent of his passes and made four interceptions.
Spurs were without Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro against Wolves, and the Evening Standard have provided an update on the pair’s fitness (28 February), revealing that while Porro is yet to return to first-team training, Udogie has made his return and is in contention to feature against Palace.
Postecoglou will therefore likely be keen to replace Ben Davies with Udogie after the Welshman’s disappointing performance last time out, during which he won just 50 per cent of his aerial duels and completed zero per cent of his crosses, having attempted six.
Emerson Royal could be asked to once again deputise for Porro just as he did against Wolves.
Pape Matar Sarr will likely continue in midfield after he won 100 per cent of his aerial duels and played one key pass against Wolves, with Yves Bissouma also likely to keep his place after winning six of his eight ground duels, making five tackles and completing 94 per cent of his passes.
James Maddison will look to provide the creativity in midfield while Dejan Kulusevski is unlikely to be dropped after his goalscoring display in the Wolves defeat on an afternoon where he also completed 100 per cent of his dribbles.
Son Heung-min had a difficult afternoon last time out as he completed just one of his four crosses into the box and failed to register a shot at goal, and Postecoglou will hope that a two-week rest has benefited the South Korea international following his hectic schedule in recent months.
Richarlison has failed to find the back of the net in his past two games after a brace against his former side Everton in a 2-2 draw at Goodison Park on Saturday 10 February, and he will be keen to return to goalscoring ways against Palace.
In other Tottenham news, an injury update has emerged on one 100 per cent Crystal Palace ace ahead of Saturday.
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