Tottenham vs Crystal Palace predictions: Johnson to make Spurs set unwanted club record
The threat of relegation has suddenly become very real for Tottenham as they prepare to host Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
Igor Tudor replaced Thomas Frank last month but is yet to provide a new manager bounce, losing 4-1 at home to Arsenal and 2-1 away to Fulham in his first two games in charge.
Following their 2-1 defeat at Craven Cottage, Tottenham are still the only team without a Premier League win in 2026.
They are now 16th in the Premier League table, just two points outside the relegation zone after West Ham won away at Fulham.
Their last Premier League victory came in the reverse fixture between these two sides when Archie Gray scored the only goal at Selhurst Park.
Palace were in the middle of a 12-game winless run when they lost to Spurs, but have started to turn things around in recent weeks, winning three of their last six games in all competitions.
They also took the lead away at Old Trafford at the weekend, before a red card helped Manchester United to win the game 2-1.
How to watch Tottenham vs Crystal Palace
Tottenham v Crystal Palace kicks off at 20:00 GMT on Thursday, March 5 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The game will be shown live on TNT Sports 1, with coverage starting from 19:00.
BBC Radio 5 Live will provide full match commentary.
Tottenham team news
Pedro Porro returned from a hamstring injury and was named in the starting line-up against Fulham, while Kevin Danso came off the bench in the 85th minute after recovering from a toe injury.
But Djed Spence was left out of the matchday squad at Craven Cottage due to a minor calf injury and will also miss the game against Palace.
His absence means Souza may be handed his first start since completing a £13million move from Santos in the January transfer window.
Cristian Romero is yet to play under Tudor following his red card against Manchester United last month, and will serve the last of his four-match suspension against Palace.
Destiny Udogie, Rodrigo Bentancur and Mohammed Kudus are all sidelined with hamstring injuries, while Lucas Bergvall is still recovering from an ankle injury.
Ben Davies, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison and Wilson Odobert are all long-term absentees and are unlikely to return before the end of the season.
Tottenham expected line-up
(4-2-3-1) Vicario, Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Souza, Palhinha, Bissouma, Kolo Muani, Simons, Richarlison, Solanke
Crystal Palace team news
Maxence Lacroix is serving a one-game suspension after being sent off for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity at Old Trafford, and Chadi Riad should replace him in the back three.
Jefferson Lerma has missed the last four Palace games with a hamstring injury and isn’t fit enough to start, but he will be back in the matchday squad.
Jean-Philippe Mateta is set to return to training next week after a knee injury prevented his January move to AC Milan, while Cheick Doucoure remains a long-term absentee.
Eddie Nketiah won’t return from a hamstring injury until April, leaving Jorgen Strand Larsen as the only fit and available striker in the Palace squad.
Brennan Johnson, who scored the winning goal for Spurs in the Europa League final last season, is expected to start on his return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Crystal Palace expected line-up
(3-4-2-1) Henderson; Canvot, Richards, Riad; Munoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell; Sarr, Johnson; Strand Larsen
Tottenham vs Crystal Palace stats
– Tottenham have now gone 10 Premier League games without a victory, equalling their longest winless streak in the competition.
– Tottenham have won just one of their last 13 home games in the Premier League (D4 L8), beating Brentford 2-0 in December.
– Tottenham have won 16 of their last 21 Premier League matches against Crystal Palace (D2 L3), although they have lost two of their last three against the Eagles.
– After nine consecutive away league defeats at Tottenham between 2015-16 and 2023-24, Crystal Palace won this fixture 2-0 last season.
– Tottenham have lost six of their last seven home league London derbies (W1), including four of their five this season. Those four defeats are already their most home London derby losses in a single league campaign.
– Crystal Palace have lost just one of their last nine away London derby matches in the Premier League (W5 D3), going down 1-0 at Arsenal in October.
– Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has won both of his previous meetings with Spurs’ Igor Tudor, with his Eintracht Frankfurt side winning home and away against Tudor’s Marseille in the 2022-23 Champions League group stage.
– Spurs are winless in their last 12 midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) Premier League games (D3 L9) since beating Brentford 3-2 in January 2024.
– This will be the eighth Premier League game played on a Thursday this season, while the previous seven have seen three 1-1 draws and four 0-0 draws.
– Despite spending a season on loan at Crystal Palace in 2021-22, Conor Gallagher has scored more Premier League goals against them than any other opponent (4).
Tottenham vs Crystal Palace predictions
It’s hard to pick a winner between these two sides, and we’re backing a draw at 5/2, which would mean Tottenham go a club-record 11 Premier League games without a win.
Tottenham are slow starters and have conceded the first goal in six of their last seven Premier League games, while Palace scored inside the opening five minutes against Manchester United.
Palace to strike first and get the opening goal is available at 6/5.
Brennan Johnson had a difficult start to his Palace career but has now registered an assist in each of his last two appearances. He’s 12/5 to score or assist against his former club.
We’re still expecting this match to be a low-scoring affair, and under 2.5 goals is available at 1/1. That bet has worked in 15 of Palace’s 28 Premier League games this season.
