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Tottenham Hosting Crystal Palace, Premier League Preview

By Aaron Coe

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 28: Gareth Bale (C) of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates with team mates (L - R) Sergio Reguilon and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg after scoring their side's fourth goal during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on February 28, 2021 in London, England.. (Photo by Matthew Childs - Pool/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 28: Gareth Bale (C) of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates with team mates (L - R) Sergio Reguilon and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg after scoring their side's fourth goal during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on February 28, 2021 in London, England.. (Photo by Matthew Childs - Pool/Getty Images) /
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Players to Watch

For Tottenham the key player is going to be Harry Kane. Harry Kane has a stellar record of nine wins, with three draws and only two defeats in 14 games against Crystal Palace with Spurs. Despite that stellar record, Kane only has five goals in those 14 matches, the third-fewest against any club Kane has faced at least 10 times, according to transfermrkt.com. Of course, two of the five have been in the last two times Kane and company have faced Palace, so the Tottenham talisman is likely just getting started in his scoring against the London rivals.

Besides Spurs talisman, there are of course questions about who plays in the #10 role behind him, Dele Alli again, Erik Lamela, or Lucas Moura. Additionally, everyone is wondering if Gareth Bale is ready to start yet again. It would be the first time Bale has started three straight for Spurs since his return on loan from Real Madrid. All that said, the other real key is Heung-Min Son.

Tottenham needs more play on the right-wing and more support from the attacking midfield to help take the load off Kane and of course Son. Since Bale has been introduced into the side, Son is seeing fewer overloads on his side with the defense. This is in part because teams have to defend against Bale and partially because teams also want to attack the Welshman and make him defend.

Regardless of why teams have given the South Korean more room is irrelevant, what is relevant is what he is doing with it. Son has been working diligently to get some service into the box over the last few matches and is starting to create more than ever. With Sergio Reguilon likely teaming with Son on the left, expect a big day from Spurs South Korean superstar.

For Palace, it is about players watching more than who to watch

Crystal Palace has some really talented players, particularly in attack. Wilfred Zaha is a speedy winger who has often been linked with a potential transfer to Spurs. For Hotspur Andros Townsend still roams the right-wing on many occasions and Eberechi Eze has been one tremendous signing for the Eagles this year. However, none of that compares to the mountain of injuries Palace has faced, particularly on defense.

James Tompkins and Mamadu Sakho were supposed to be a big part of the defense this season and the two 31-year-olds have played less than 850 minutes combined. Nathan Ferguson was brought in from West Brom to learn from the two and he himself got injured and has not featured once all season.

Instead of a couple of 31-year-olds and a 20-year-old kid handling the center-back duties for Roy Hodgson, the Eagles have a 34-year-old Scott Dann and a 35-year-old Gary Cahill running the show in the back. Sure there have been some rough patches, like Liverpool and Manchester City but the team has done okay of late. Palace has two consecutive shutouts and has six on the season.  How Dann and Cahill hold up against Kane, Son, and whoever Mourinho plays with them will be the story of the match.