(Football news) Tottenham Hotspurs Hotspur will open the weekend’s top-tier action on Friday when they travel across London to play Crystal Palace. The team’s goals are to maintain their unbeaten start to the season and life under Ange Postecoglou and solidify their position at the top of the Premier League table.
With a win against Fulham on Monday to kick off their return from the international break, the visitors went two points clear at the top of the table, while their hosts fell to 11th position after a crushing loss to Newcastle United.
With 12 points from their first nine games under Roy Hodgson’s continuous direction, Crystal Palace enters their tenth Premier League match of the year on the strength of a largely successful start to the current top division campaign.
The Eagles have finished with three wins, three draws, and three losses in those nine games. They went into the recent international break in a somewhat positive mood after going three games without a loss in the league, starting with a goalless draw against Fulham and a 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford thanks to a first-half goal by Joachim Andersen.
On their return to action on Saturday, they faced a difficult trip to Newcastle United and were soundly defeated by a formidable Magpies side. This continued their fine defensive form and growing unbeaten run, as they recorded another draw against Nottingham Forest, giving Hodgson’s team three straight clean sheets and just seven goals conceded in their first eight top-flight games.
The game was effectively over when Callum Wilson sealed a 4-0 victory at home around the hour mark. Jacob Murphy had put the hosts ahead early on, and Anthony Gordon and Sean Longstaff would add goals just before halftime to make it a virtual shutout.
After being thoroughly thrashed and dropping to 11th position with just a two-point deficit to 15th place, Crystal Palace will look to bounce back at Selhurst Park on Friday and win, despite the fact that it will be one of their hardest tests to date.
After their trip to St. James’ Park, Tottenham Hotspur now arrives with the intention of extending their excellent start to life under Ange Postecoglou and expanding their advantage at the top of the Premier League table. The schedule surely does not get any easier for the South London team.
With nine rounds of games in the top flight of England under their belt, the Lilywhites have already scored 20 goals while conceding only eight, giving them a 23 point lead and the division’s only winning streak left.
After a 2-2 draw away from rivals Arsenal in the North London derby in late September, Postecoglou’s team is coming into this Friday’s trip having won three straight Premier League games. First, they defeated Liverpool 2-1, first thanks to an own goal in the 90th minute by Joel Matip after Son Heung-min gave them the lead. Then, they won 1-0 at Luton Town, where Micky van de Ven scored the game’s winning goal.
After their return to play on Monday night, the North London team would continue where they left off, hosting Fulham and winning 2-0 to earn their seventh three-point haul of the season through goals from Son and James Maddison.
Tottenham Hotspurs will be eager to make it four straight wins on Friday and extend their lead at the top before the chasing group returns to action over the weekend. With Manchester City and Arsenal close behind them and a two-point lead at the top of the table for the first time this season, Tottenham Hotspur will be under pressure to win on Friday.
Also read: Liverpool set to play Toulouse in UEL
