Tottenham welcome London rivals Crystal Palace to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Things are getting out of order at Tottenham Hotspur. The Lilywhites are getting even worse under new interim boss Igor Tudor than they were under Thomas Frank.
So far, Igor Tudor has shown absolutely no sign of providing Tottenham with a direction and the fans hope, and the truth is that if they play as they did for the opening hour against Fulham at Craven Cottage in the upcoming games, then they will, in all likelihood, taste relegation. The Croatian tactician is not helping himself by blaming the squad for the problems everybody is aware of. Rather than binding the team together, he is mentally breaking them further with his criticism in the media.
On Thursday night, Spurs will get another opportunity to end their winless league run in 2026 as they welcome capital rivals, Crystal Palace. Tottenham have a dismal record at home all season, winning just two of the 14 games. Crystal Palace, on the other hand, head into the fixture on the back of a 2-1 defeat to Manchester United.
Paul Merson makes prediction for Tottenham vs. Crystal Palace
Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has offered his score prediction for the fixture between Tottenham and Crystal Palace. He just doesn’t see Spurs getting a result here, and having watched Palace in recent games, especially against Man United on Sunday, the ex-Arsenal star fancies the Eagles to pile more misery on Tudor’s side. He has predicted a 2-1 win for Palace.
“I would have said Tottenham, but I saw Crystal Palace’s last few games, and I think if they start well and get a goal early in this game, that will be it!” Paul Merson wrote in his column for Sportskeeda.
“I just cannot put my name against Tottenham. I do not see how they can win this football match. Spurs will not get relegated because they have decent fixtures coming up. But I am not sure they can start winning games straightaway.
“Forest and West Ham can sit back and try to get draws in their games. But because Tottenham are Tottenham, they are a big club and they have to go for the win in games. I have a feeling that this could play into Palace’s hands here.
“Palace went to Old Trafford and took the lead in that game. Ismaila Sarr and Brennan Johnson can hurt Spurs down the wings. It will be unbelievable if Tottenham lost this game. And it feels like we might just witness it!”
Igor Tudor expects more from his Tottenham side
Tudor has overseen defeats in his opening two matches against Arsenal and Fulham, and the possibility of Spurs spiralling into the Championship for the first time since 1977 is very much real. The ex-Juventus manager has not improved the situation in N17, and it could be argued that the team has gone backwards under him.
The 47-year-old is demanding a lot in terms of running power, physicality and tactical awareness, and so far, the players have failed to showcase them on the pitch. Tudor looks frustrated with the situation and the broken squad he has inherited from Frank, but it is now his job to prove his naysayers wrong and fulfil the objective.