Tottenham Hotspur are one of the hottest teams in the Premier League right now, and they’re on a hunt for Chelsea’s spot atop the table. But there’s another hot team in the EPL right now, and if Crystal Palace have anything to say about it, the Spurs’ run to the top will come to an abrupt end on Wednesday.
With Tottenham needing to at least match Chelsea point for point to give themselves a chance to close the gap whenever an opportunity arrives, they have no room for error or slipups. Unfortunately for them, Palace have specialized in creating those errors and slipups ever since Sam Allardyce was hired to drag them away from the relegation zone and into safety.
He’s done that, and the way he’s done it has been interesting to watch unfold.
Palace beat West Bromwich Albion and put a stop to their attempts to challenge for a Europa League place, then did the same to Watford. They beat Chelsea to help open up the title race, they beat Arsenal to put Arsene Wenger’s job in jeopardy, and they beat Liverpool just for the sheer fun of chaos. They’re not going to be a team that’s just going to lie down for the team trying to chase the title — Tottenham are going to have to work their butts off if they’re going to win this game.
Both Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace are relatively healthy at this point in the season, though Palace’s injuries will sting a little more. James Tomkins, Scott Dann, and Papa Souare represent a lot of missing defensive depth, and while Connor Wickham hasn’t been instrumental to their attack, not having him as a late-game option will limit what Allardyce can do tactically.
Comparatively, the only guaranteed absence for Tottenham is Erik Lamela, who suffered a season-ending injury long enough ago that they have plenty of plans to work without him. Otherwise, their absences are reserves, with Michel Vorm and Harry Winks absent. Danny Rose has been missing of late, but he’s potentially going to be available, and he’s the kind of player who will absolutely play in this important of a match if he can.
Match info, plus how to watch on TV and stream
Match Date/Time: Wednesday, 3 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. local
Venue: Selhurst Park, London, England
TV: NBCSN (U.S.), Sky Sports 1/HD (U.K.)
Online: NBC Sports Live (U.S.), Sky Go (U.K.)
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Listings for more countries can be found at LiveSoccerTV.