Tottenham Hotspur will make a short trip to Selhurst Park to take on Crystal Palace in the FA Cup looking to progress into the next round of the competition. Spurs crashed out of the League Cup after a penalty shootout loss to Chelsea so Mauricio Pochettino will hope for a strong response from his players, despite the club being rocked by a string of high-profile injuries recently.
The North London outfit will line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation as they attempt to come away with a win this weekend.
4-2-3-1 Tottenham Hotspur Predicted Lineup To Face Crystal Palace
Defence
Hugo Lloris might return to Pochettino’s starting XI after he was rested against Chelsea in midweek. The French keeper has not kept a clean sheet in each of his last two starts in the Premier League. So he would be desperate to do well versus the Eagles in order to give Spurs an ideal platform to win the game at Selhurst Park.
The defensive duo of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen might keep their place at the heart of the Tottenham defence after they put on an impressive display against the Pensioners despite ending up at the bitter end of a 2-1 scoreline. Davinson Sanchez might be available on the bench and will be expected to feature at some point during the contest.
Kieran Trippier will likely get the nod ahead of Serge Aurier to start at right-back after the English defender got a rest on Thursday night. Danny Rose was Tottenham’s best player on the pitch against Chelsea, so he will undoubtedly start at left-back in the absence of the injured, Ben Davies. Spurs have struggled to keep things tight at the back after conceding a goal in each of their last three matches across all competitions.
Midfield
Both Harry Winks and Eric Dier could operate as the holding midfielders as they look to establish Spurs’ dominance at the centre of the pitch. The trio of Christian Eriksen, Lucas Moura and Erik Lamela will lineup ahead of them as they look to link up with each other and create some good opportunities in and around the opposition penalty box.
It’s high time for Lamela to step up and start being more productive in the final third.
Attack
Fernando Llorente will spearhead Pochettino’s attack once again in the absence of Harry Kane, who is currently sidelined due to a knee injury. The Spanish forward managed to score a crucial goal versus Maurizio Sarri’s men in midweek, but his strike was not enough as Spurs crashed out of the League Cup on penalties.
