Tottenham have the chance to go five points clear at the top of the Premier League table tonight when they make the short trip to Crystal Palace.
A convincing 2-0 win against Fulham on Monday night saw Spurs return to the top of the Premier League, with the Lilywhites extending their lead to two points following Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Chelsea. With Ange Postecoglou's side in action before any of their title rivals, Spurs could head into the weekend with five points between them and second place with three points tonight.
Crystal Palace have had a mixed start to the season, currently sitting in 11th after picking up three wins, three draws and three losses so far in the Premier League. The last meeting between the two sides ended in a 1-0 win for Spurs, with Harry Kane scoring the only goal.
So, could Spurs extend their lead at the top of the table tonight? Let's take a look.
We simulated Crystal Palace vs Spurs to get a score prediction
To complete this simulation, we used EA FC 24 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We predict that the hosts could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Johnstone; Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; Lerma, Doucoure, Franca; Ayew, Mateta, Edouard.
We predict that Spurs could line up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Hojbjerg, Maddison; Kulusevski, Son, Richarlison.
Spurs were fantastic in the first 45 minutes at Selhurst Park, but the visitors just couldn't find the breakthrough, despite having 81 per cent possession in the first half. As the game went on, Spurs started looking more dangerous in front of goal, and with a stroke of luck, they finally opened the scoring in the 71st minute.
As Richarlison moved centrally, James Maddison drifted out to the left where he picked up possession and cut inside. The midfielder breezed past one defender before curling towards the far corner, and a huge deflection off Joachim Andersen sent the ball into the opposite side of the goal, leaving Sam Johnstone stranded in net.
It was a deserved lead for Spurs, but after going ahead, Palace started to press more and caused some problems for Postecoglou's side. Guglielmo Vicario was forced to make a great save to deny Jordan Ayew from the Palace kick-off, and just three minutes after Spurs took the lead, the hosts levelled the score.
As Jean-Phillipe Mateta surged forward with the ball, the striker spotted the run of Odsonne Edouard on the left who had drifted in behind Pedro Porro unnoticed. Mateta threaded a pass through to his teammate who went one-on-one with Vicario, and he curled into the far corner to make it 1-1.
Spurs were unable to find a second as Palace defended well, and the points were shared in south London.
EA FC 24 predicted final score: Crystal Palace 1-1 Spurs
What do you think the final score will be? Let us know in the comments!
