Key events
8 min: Palace look lively, full of spring on the break. Mateta is sent away by Tyrick Mitchell but Spurs are back in numbers this time.
6 min: There’s a few contenders for the kick but the wall is hit when Pino smashes low. That was a waster.
5 min: Mateta sends Devenny away and Danso is struggling, and clips the Palace player. That resulted in a yellow, and VAR rules that’s the correct decision. No Dogso, you see. Palace must settle for a free-kick.
4 min: Djed Spence and Marc Guehi get into a tussle. Guehi seems set to see out the season at Palace, though he is able to sign a pre-contract from Thursday, 1 Jan.
2 min: There’s a drum beat audible but Selhurst sounds quiet; most grounds this weekend have. The festive fare can have a draining effect.
Away we go at Selhurst
1 min: Will Palace miss players like Munoz and Sarr? Their squad is being stretched to its limits by their heavy schedule; they have already played 30 games this season. Spurs kick off having won just one game in eight in the Premier League. Devenny, making only his second start of the season, has the first dart of the day. Spurs beat the ball awat, and it’s back with Vicario.
Glad All Over plays, signifying a Palace game is on its way. Odd that the Dave Clark Five were known as the “Tottenham sound”.
It’s a cold day in London, and Selhurst awaits the teams, who are both in the tunnel and will enter the pitch from the corner.
Richard Hirst gets in touch: “Watching the video of John Robertson in the piece you linked to I was reminded not only of his ability but also of the state of the pitches. It really was a different game then: maybe football did begin in 1992!”
So does Jeremy Boyce: “Looking forward to the match and I’m almost certain that Palace will have benefited from a few days to rest tired legs after their hectic pre-festive schedule. So what will Glasner’s team talk consist of ? Mostly “Lads, it’s Tottenham” I would think. Frankly, I’m beginning to wonder if Franck’s decision to take the ill-fated manager’s job at the cheese shop won’t turn out to have been as ill-judged as Graham Potter’s when he swallowed the devil’s shilling and moved from a great career at a smaller club to ignominy and ridicule at a bigger one. And then another. Spurs aren’t in crisis, yet. But defeat today would leave them small goal difference and points away from the Postecoglou vortex of the drop zone.
“A win for Palace would leapfrog them back to the Europe places, where of course they already are. As are Spurs. Who will be there next year ? Glasner, a much-touted one day “Big-Club” boss would be well advised to read the tea leaves and everything else possible before deciding anything should such an offer materialise. 3 – 1 Palace then….”
Here’s an obituary of one of British football’s very best players.
Last time out, both teams coming off a defeat:
Palace had that disappointing loss in the Carabao Cup to Arsenal this week, from which Oliver Glasner makes four changes. Dean Henderson has the gloves, while Nathaniel Clyne starts in defence and Will Hughes and Justin Devenny play in midfield.
Suspension robs Spurs of Xavi Simons and Cristian Romero for their red cards against Liverpool, as Richarlison and Kevin Danso come in.
The benches:
Palace: Benitez, Nketiah, Uche, Esse, Canvot, Sosa, Rodney, Benamar, Drakes-Thomas.
Tottenham: Kinsky, Dragusin, Joao Palhinha, Tel, Johnson, Takai, Odobert,
Davies, Scarlett.
The referee is Jarred Gillett (Australia)
The starting teams
Crystal Palace: Henderson; Lerma, Lacroix, Guéhi; Clyne, Wharton, Hughes, Mitchell; Pino, Devenny; Mateta.
Tottenham: Vicario; Pedro Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Spence; Gray, Bentancur; Kudus, Bergvall, Kolo Muani; Richarlison.
It’s been a golden year for Crystal Palace. This is their last of 2025.
That Thomas Frank is under pressure is no secret. Though he is a tough character and pulls few punches.
At Brøndby, I didn’t win the first eight games and then we were unbeaten in nine,” he said. “At Brentford, we lost eight out of 10 games and then we were unbeaten in 10. So I am convinced we will see a similar pattern here. I’m not in doubt of that. Because I know how to make a competitive team. We will make a very competitive team here, as well.
Preamble
The pressure’s on for Thomas Frank. Spurs are having last season all over again, and he was supposed to be the manager to change things. Oliver Glasner meanwhile, can do no wrong, aside from sign a new Crystal Palace contract. A Palace win would put them into the reaches of the top five, while Tottenham can go a point behind the Eagles should they win at Selhurst. Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad, after all.
Kick-off at 4.30pm. Join me.