Crystal Palace have their second Premier League London derby in the space of a week as they travel to North London to face Tottenham Hotspur at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Eagles are unbeaten in three league games having beaten their bitter rivals Brighton & Hove Albion and securing stalemates against Fulham and Manchester United.
The defence has become solid recently but they will have to be alert to stop Spurs' formidable attack that consists of Gareth Bale, Lucas Moura, Son Heung-Min, and Harry Kane.
Last time out, Tottenham beat Fulham 1-0 thanks to a Tosin Adarabioyo's own goal, which saw them return to winning ways in London derbies since their 2-1 loss to West Ham United.
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Team News
Giovani Lo Celso seems to be the only injury worry for Spurs but he will return to action later this month.
Jose Mourinho handed Dele Alli his first league start against Fulham since the opening day defeat to Everton whilst in-form Bale started for the second game running in all competitions.
The likes of Moura, Erik Lamela and Steven Bergwijn can be called upon in attacking midfield if Palace become too hard to break down.
Son is certain to start with five goals and one assist to his name when playing the Eagles (he has only netted more against Southampton in the Premier League).
Palace have a contrasting situation to Spurs with as many as nine first-team players currently out. James McCarthy is the latest player to join the injury list after limping off in the 0-0 draw with Manchester United.
Jairo Riedewald could be recalled to replace McCarthy. Wilfried Zaha is back from injury and will be looking to add to his nine league goals this season with the aim to fire Palace back to winning ways.
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Predicted Lineups
Tottenham possible XI: Hugo Lloris, Serge Aurier, Davinson Sanchez, Toby Alderweireld, Sergio Reguilon, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Tanguy Ndombele, Bale, Moura, Son and Kane.
Crystal Palace possible XI: Vicente Guaita, Joel Ward, Cheikhou Kouyate, Gary Cahill, Patrick Van Aanholt, Andros Townsend, Luka Milivojevic, Riedewald, Eberechi Eze, Zaha, and Christian Benteke.
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Form Guide
Tottenham have won their last two in the league and their last three in all competitions so they are definitely in-form at the moment. The front four are scoring for fun and Bale is rediscovering his form at the right time for Spurs.
Palace are unbeaten in their last three and will be hoping for a fourth game without defeat when they play Spurs on Sunday evening. Cahill has been world-class at the back and it comes at a good time where fans have been calling for a defensive improvement.
Unlike Tottenham, Palace have been struggling for goals of late and they will need to up their game against Spurs if they are to receive anything on their travels.
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Ones to Watch
Tottenham Hotspur - Gareth Bale
The Welsh international has been firing on all cylinders recently. It's like he never left North London and he is rediscovering the form that secured him a move abroad in the first place.
Bale is rolling back the years and Van Aanholt will need all the help he can get from Eze to stop him. That left foot of his is still dangerous as it was before, so man-marking will be needed here.
Crystal Palace - Wilfried Zaha
The Ivorian has nine league goals to his name and he will be eyeing vengeance for the games he has missed over the last few weeks due to injury.
Palace have not done too badly without him but it is clear to see that they really struggle for goals and creativity without his presence and he will step up to provide what the Eagles have been missing.
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Previous Meeting
Crystal Palace 1-1 Tottenham (13/12/20)
This was the first game that home fans were allowed back to Selhurst Park after COVID-19 guidelines had been followed and restrictions had been eased after the lockdown period.
Palace started the better of the two teams when Benteke set up Zaha to shoot from outside the area to test Lloris early on in the game.
Tottenham got back into the game and they almost took the lead when Aurier's cross found Ndombele but Guaita was there to deny the Frenchman from point-blank range.
Spurs had another chance shortly after when the corner found the head of Kane, but Guaita again denied Tottenham from taking the lead.
Tottenham were not taking their chances until Son's ball to Kane allowed the England international to hit a swerving effort from distance that caught Guaita out and gave Spurs the lead.
Palace got back into the game after Tottenham's pressure and Eze came agonisingly close to the equaliser when his side-footed effort fit the outside of the post.
In the final 10 minutes of the game, Palace were piling on the pressure and they got their equaliser when Eze's delightful set-piece causes confusion in the box and Jeffrey Schlupp reacted quickest to tap home and secure a point.
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Where to watch on TV
The game will be live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event with coverage starting at 7pm; kick-off 7:15pm.
Free highlights will be available shortly after full-time on the Sky Sports website, app or YouTube channel. Sky Sports customers can watch in-game clips in the live match blog on the Sky Sports website and app as well.
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What the managers have said
Tottenham Hotspur - Jose Mourinho
According to tottenhamhotspur.com, Mourinho discussed Aurier's fitness and how well Palace defend.
On Aurier's fitness: "Serge, I believe, yes. He had that injury then he played the last match until minute 70, 75 when he started feeling his calf again. He doesn't have an injury, he has just not the best feelings after a muscular injury. I believe he is going to be okay, but to be honest I was so happy with Matt Doherty's performance (at Fulham)."
On Palace's defence: "It's a difficult match, they defend a lot and well, they have a lot of good defenders, people who enjoy defending, enjoy playing in a defensive team.
"At the same time, a very good coach, Roy and his staff, they know very well how to play, their 4-4-2, sometimes they bring one more player back, but normally 4-4-2, they are aggressive in the counter-attack, they are good at set-pieces, they have giants who can win the first ball and can win the game in the opposition half."
Crystal Palace - Roy Hodgson
According to cpfc.co.uk, Hodgson discussed Zaha's availability, update on Nathaniel Clyne and defensive solidity.
On Zaha's availability: “He’s trained well this week. There’s no reason why I can’t consider him for a place in the team.
“He’s missed lots of games for us in that period of time, but he’s still come back quicker than the medical department thought might be possible because of his incredible powers of recovery."
On Clyne: “Nathaniel Clyne we thought would be recovered in time, but he hasn’t unfortunately… The initial prognosis was very positive. It was only a minor strain and wouldn’t take very long at all.
“It’s been more than two weeks now. The problem is that the scan didn’t show any major problems, but he still feels discomfort. I think he’ll be given a second scan to make sure nothing was missed.
“If nothing was missed, he’ll be back fairly quickly."
On defensive solidity: “It’s a question of understanding what they’re good at.
"Making certain that they really embrace the team ethos, and to realise that defending isn’t a question of how good your goalkeeper and centre-backs are, it’s really more a question of the two front players protecting the midfield, who then protect the back four, who then protect the goalkeeper.
“The training ground has been very useful, especially in the week before Brighton. We really hammered home then what we think we are good at, that we must absolutely key into."
Doom and gloom seemed to be engulfing the Tottenham Hotspur stadium but three wins in eight days has lifted Spurs' morale. Mourinho has recovered some key players and they are now winning games in their bid to secure top four this season.
The Eagles have failed to score in four of their last five games but they are unbeaten in three. Where they have not scored, they have certainly improved their defending since they have been labelled the second-worst defence in the league statistically.
Zaha's return will boost the squad massively and could end their goalscoring hoodoo in recent weeks. However, Spurs will want to make it four consecutive wins and it will be hard for Palace to cancel out the likes of Moura, Bale, Son and Kane who are in red-hot form.
Prediction: Tottenham 2-1 Crystal Palace