Patrick Vieira claims Crystal Palace will not make Harry Kane ‘mistake’ against Tottenham Hotspur
Manager Patrick Vieira has claimed Crystal Palace will not make the ‘massive mistake’ of focussing all their attention on Harry Kane in the London derby later today (4 January).
Kane is one of the two Tottenham superstars up front expected to start against the Eagles. An injury update by manager Antonio Conte cast doubts over the availability of Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison.
The two injured attackers were out of the matchday squad against Aston Villa in our recent 2-0 league defeat at N17. Kane, Son Heung-min, and Bryan Gil consisted of our front three.
While Gil and Lucas remain as options, Kane and Son are clearly the two attackers Conte can count on right now. There is no doubt that the England international will want to feature in this important derby at Selhurst Park.
Palace’s Harry Kane plan
So far, he has played in all 24 games for us across competitions this season. He has scored 14 goals and three assists during that time, and will be the obvious point of threat for Palace to pay attention to.
However, Vieira believes that focussing all their attention on the 29-year-old could be counter-intuitive. He said in his pre-match press conference (h/t Football.London):
“You’re not going to stop him. And I think if we only put our concentration and focus on him it will be a massive mistake, because there are so many good players around him who can provide the quality ball for him to finish it. So the team performance will be the main focus for us.”
Vieira’s right, Spurs have players that can hurt the Eagles – Son, Ivan Perisic, and even Lucas Moura on his day can be of great threat to the opposition. But let’s be honest, Kane will get special attention.
More Tottenham Hotspur News:
- Tottenham Hotspur’s academy compared with Arsenal’s after Aston Villa loss
- Dejan Kulusevski, Richarlison, Richarlison: Triple Tottenham Hotspur injury update for Crystal Palace tie
- Antonio Conte addresses Son Heung-min’s poor form at Tottenham Hotspur
If Deki and Richarlison don’t play, he will be the obvious threat up front given Son’s poor form which has seen him with no goals and one assist in his last eight league games. He is also one booking away from missing the derby against Arsenal, so hopefully, he keeps his cool against Palace and avoids a suspension.
