Tottenham Hotspur is heading south to Selhurst Park Saturday afternoon as the Premier League returns, here are the offensive keys to a Spurs victory over Crystal Palace.
Both Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace have new coaches and while Patrick Vieira‘s start with Palace has not been as bad as most thought it would be, with two draws from three games, the Eagles are already seven points behind the first-place Spurs. As Tottenham tries to take that lead to 10 points and stay unbeaten, here are the keys to the game for the Lilywhites.
Spurs must handle the crowd
For Tottenham Hotspur, this trip to south London is the first of three straight London derbies in the Premier League with Chelsea and Arsenal to follow. However, for Crystal Palace, a London derby is just another game, as this will be their fourth straight match in London to start the campaign.
Palace struggled on opening day at Chelsea but bounced back to hold Brentford to a scoreless draw at home, and then came from a goal down twice to tie West Ham amidst the bubbles at Olympic Stadium. To now have Tottenham coming to town for their second home derby and fourth overall, Palace will be ready.
Tottenham should expect a raucous crowd looking to cheer their team on to a big victory with a trip to Merseyside next week. While the Eagles do not have everyone available yet – Eberechi Eze is still out – the team should have a few players back, like Luka Milivojevic, and some new signings available for action like Odsonne Edouard and Will Hughes.
Handling the atmosphere and playing with a level head will be critical in what should be a physical, exhausting contest. Here are our other keys for a Tottenham victory.
Tottenham keys on offense
From an offensive perspective, Tottenham really needs to look at the three matches Palace has had to get a good idea of the best way to attack the Eagles. While Palace did hold Brentford scoreless they have given up five goals in their other two matches and Vicente Guaita has made eight saves. If Tottenham plays smart they will get chances and should be able to shoot down the Eagles.
Offensive Key 1: Ball recovery in the midfield
In their first three matches, Crystal Palace has struggled to get out of their own end. Palace has been packed in their own half and has found themselves scrambling a lot defensively. This scrambling has led to hurried clearances and sub-par outlet passes.
Hurried clearances and sub-par outlet passes are a recipe for turnovers in the midfield, which has plagued Palace for much of the season. Against Chelsea on the opening weekend and against West Ham, it was costly turnovers leading to goals that really hurt the team.
Tottenham is a good counter-attacking team but that is different than these quick-strike goals which they used to also be strong at. If Tottenham can manage to recover the ball in transition in the middle of the park, it should lead to some goal-scoring opportunities for the Spurs. This means that the Spurs need big games from both Dele Alli and Pierre Hojbjerg.
Offensive Key 2: Attack Andersen and Ward
At one time Tottenham was being linked with Joachim Andersen and for the first time ever, I strongly recommend targeting him. West Ham scored both of their goals on matchday three with long balls to Antonio as he battled with Andersen. Both Harry Kane and if available Steven Bergwijn could provide a similar physical presence as Antonio did.
Alternatively, Bryan Gil and Lucas Moura both have the kind of craft and burst to cause Andersen trouble. Compounding issues on the right defensively for Palace is Joel Ward at fullback. Ward is a decent enough back but he is on the wrong side of 30 and has a tendency to commit fouls.
Whether they are attacking Ward or Andersen, it should lead to opportunities.
Offensive Key 3: Tottenham must leverage the dead-ball situations
Crystal Palace is a team that is going to foul a lot, particularly in and around the penalty box. Marcos Alonzo scored on a freekick against Palace in the opening match and they have given up several other quality opportunities around the penalty box.
Tottenham has already converted twice in dead-ball situations this season with Son’s free-kick and Dele’s penalty. On Saturday Spurs will have to find someone new to play those free-kicks into the box with Son out, possibly Bryan does that as well. Regardless of who is striking the ball, the Spurs will get some chances and they need to convert.
If the Spurs can leverage the free-kicks, attack Ward and Andersen in transition they should be able to score some goals and beat the Eagles to maintain a perfect start to the season.