Mauricio Pochettino will be looking for his Tottenham Hotspur team to continue in the same vein when they travel to Selhurst Park on Saturday evening.
Tottenham Hotspur made it three wins on the bounce with their comeback victory over PSV on Tuesday night. That result kept their hopes of qualification from the Champions League group alive for now.
Domestically, Spurs have started the season very well. Tottenham are currently fourth in the league and have a Carabao Cup quarter-final to look forward to. That game will be at the Emirates with their north London rivals Arsenal in December.
Mauricio Pochettino did not have the luxury of a deep-pocketed transfer kitty during the summer. In fact, Spurs made no actual signings due to their financial commitments ahead of the move to their new stadium. In light of this fact, it is even more impressive to consider the level of performance Pochettino has still attained from his squad so far. Tuesday night’s comeback against PSV showed that Spurs are more than capable of responding positively to adversity.
With another international break coming up after this weekend’s fixtures, Pochettino is likely to go full-strength for their visit to Crystal Palace. Roy Hodgson’s side has managed just one win in their last seven games but that doesn’t mean Pochettino will be taking the game lightly.
Spurs have generally set up in a 4-2-3-1 shape this season. The biggest choices Pochettino needs to make are in relation to the three attacking midfielders who will provide the support for lone-striker Harry Kane.
Club captain Hugo Lloris will return in goal after his Champions League suspension which meant Paulo Gazzaniga played at Wembley on Tuesday.
In defence, Danny Rose and Jan Vertonghen are unavailable so it should be a back four of Kieran Trippier, Davinson Sanchez, Toby Alderweireld and Ben Davies.
In midfield, Pochettino has some more injury concerns with Victor Wanyama, Eric Dier and Moussa Dembele all carrying knocks. Dier’s thigh injury will almost certainly keep him out of the game at Palace and the same goes for Dembele’s ankle injury. Like against PSV, Christian Eriksen will drop back to partner Harry Winks at the base of the midfield. The young English midfielder was one of Spurs’ shining stars against PSV.
Heung-min Son, Dele Alli and Lucas Moura is the probable trio that will take the attacking midfield positions, just behind Kane.
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