Crystal Palace – Tottenham Hotspur: Spurs Get Past Palace To Stay At The Top

Even the most optimistic Tottenham Hotspur fan would have struggled to convince themselves over the summer that they would be leading the Premier League going into the last round of fixtures in October, but that is exactly where they found themselves. With a win over Crystal Palace, they extended their stay at these dizzying heights for at least another week.

Tactical analysis and match report by Neel Shelat.

Ange Postecoglu's instant transformational impact after his arrival at Tottenham Hotspur cannot be commended enough, but the question is now becoming whether his side can preserve this momentum. He has refused to be drawn into questions of a title race and his squad certainly seems a level below the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool, but if they could keep step with those sides for ten games, why should they not believe they could keep at it for the rest of the season?

On the other side of the city, Crystal Palace’s ambitions were far less lofty. The evergreen Roy Hodgson came in earlier this year to steer them clear of the relegation battle last season, and he looks set to do just that once again this time around as the Eagles started the weekend in 11th place level on points with Chelsea. Sensible football was getting the job done at Selhurst Park, so there was no need to chop and change much.

So, Crystal Palace lined up in their usual 4-4-2 formation. Sam Johnstone had Joel Ward, Joachim Andersen, Marc Guehi and Tyrick Mitchell making up the defense in front of him. Cheick Doucouré was joined by Jefferson Lerma in central midfield whilst Jordan Ayew and Jeffrey Schlupp manned the wings, and . . .