by Ian S. Palmer
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The fifth-round of the English FA Cup features an all-Premier League London derby as Tottenham Hotspur will be hosting neighbors Crystal Palace at White Hart Lane this Sunday, February 21. Tottenham has been climbing the league standings lately while Palace has been sliding down them. However, none of that will matter when the teams clash in the cup competition on Sunday. Spurs are hoping to win their first league title since 1961 this year and should at least finish in the top four and earn a spot in the European Champions League. Meanwhile, Palace needs to make sure they don’t slip all the way down to the relegation zone.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace – Pinnacle SOCCER BETTING LINE:
- Pinnacle currently lists Tottenham as the favorites at -143 with Palace +439 and a draw at +298
Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace – Head to Head:
- Tottenham has already beaten Palace twice this season as they downed them 1-0 at White Hart Lane in September and 3-1 at Selhurst Park in January in league action. Palace has beaten Spurs just once in their past six meetings which was a decision at home in. Tottenham is undefeated in their past five matches against Palace at home with three victories and a pair of draws and has allowed just one goal against in that span. Overall, the clubs have met 47 times in the past with Tottenham winning 24, losing 10 and drawing the other 13. The last time the teams clashed in the FA Cup was in January of 2004 with Spurs earning a 3-0 decision at home.
Tottenham currently sits in second place in the Premier League after a 2-1 road win at Manchester City last weekend. They have are tied with Arsenal on 51 points, but have a better goal difference. Spurs has 14 wins, nine draws and three losses with 47 goals for and a league-low 20 against. Palace sits in 13th place in the 20-team league after dropping a 2-1 home decision to newly-promoted Watford last weekend. They have nine victories on the season along with five draws and 12 defeats with 27 goals for and 32 against.
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Spurs are coming off of a 1-1 draw in Italy against Fiorentina in the Europa League on Thursday. They could still actually pull of a treble this year if they can manage to capture the Europa League as well as the Premier League and FA Cup. Of course, there’s also a good chance they don’t win any of those three. They’ll be facing a struggling Palace side that has won just two of their past 11 contests though, so have a good chance of advancing to the sixth round of the FA Cup competition.
Tottenham is unbeaten in their past eight matches in all competitions. They had won seven in a row until drawing their Europa League fixture on Thursday, but will be without defender Jan Vertonghen for this game. Palace’s lone two wins in their past 11 fixtures were both FA Cup contests as they downed Southampton on the road and beat Stoke City at home. They’ve lost five of their last seven matches too with a win and a draw and have a lone clean sheet in their last nine outings. In addition, they’ve scored more than one goal just once in their last 11.
Both teams have injury concerns as Palace is expected to be without Jason Puncheon as well as James McArthur, Joe Ledley, Yannick Bolasie, Dwight Gayle and Kwesi Appiah. However, fans shouldn’t be surprised if Gayle, Bolasie and Ledley are all dressed. Spurs will also be without Clinton N’Jie while number one goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is expected to return between the posts.
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