Tottenham Hotspur must be desperate for three points vs. Palace

It has not been a great last couple of months for Tottenham Hotspur, with more losses than wins over the previous ten matches, making Crystal Palace a must-win game.

With five losses in their last ten matches and slipping out of the top four behind Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur is facing a must-win London derby with Crystal Palace on Wednesday. And while results have the table set up for Spurs to make up some ground, Tottenham has not won at Selhurst Park since the Pochettino era. If Tottenham is to get their season back on track, they need three big points.

Tottenham with a chance to gain ground, if not a position

When Tottenham Hotspur returned from the World Cup break on Boxing Day, Spurs were in fourth place. Now a draw and a loss later, the Lilywhites have dropped to fifth place and, even with a win today over Palace can move no higher in the table. However, just because the position does not change does not mean the ground does not move.

On this Matchday 19, three teams Tottenham is battling against in the top six have dropped points. Liverpool lost at Brentford, and Arsenal tied Newcastle. Thus, Spurs can stretch a thin 2-point lead over the Reds to five, with a game in hand.

As critical, Spurs can cut into the five-point gap between themselves and Newcastle and make a little dent in Arsenal’s commanding 14-point lead at the top.

Further, with Manchester United having won already, they too are five points in front of Spurs and will have a game in hand after today, meaning three points is the only acceptable option for Tottenham.

Selhurst Park has been trouble for Tottenham of late

Across 52 previous meetings in all competitions, Tottenham has 18 more wins than Palace 28 to 10 but has not won at Selhurst Park since November 2018. That day a second-half Juan Foyth header gave Spurs the 0-1 win. Since that victory, Spurs have managed just two points from four matches in all competitions when making the trip to south London.

Spurs have been outscored in those four matches 7-2, including last season’s 0-3 humiliation, which was the beginning of the end of the Nuno Espirito Santo regime. Now back at Selhurst Park, desperate for a win and three points, it is up to Tottenham to decide if this is the start of a Spurs surge or just another stop on the road to new management. While it will not be easy and recent history is not with Spurs, we must have these three points.