It’s possible that Tottenham Hotspur could see themselves eliminated from from two domestic cup competitions, at the hands of a fellow London side, within the space of four days. Spurs travel a very short distance to Crystal Palace on Sunday for a FA Cup fourth round clash having just been cast out of the EFL Cup at the hands of Chelsea in midweek.
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino really has his work cut out for him now as he’s got a full blown injury crisis to manage around. It’s times like these that show a.) just what an amazing manager he really is and b.) how much Chairman Daniel Levy has utterly failed him.
If the board had actually given the manager any resources at all to work with, the side would have the kind of depth required to handle a situation like this.
But they didn’t so the north London side must play the hands they were dealt. Let’s take a look at the injury and fitness situation for both sides, starting with the visitors. Dele Alli (hamstring) and Harry Kane (ankle) are out injured while Son Heung-min is away on international duty.
Additionally, they have three doubts for this match: Ben Davies (groin), Moussa Sissoko (knee) and Victor Wanyama (knee).
In flipping over to the hosts, Palace might have 21-year-old goalkeeper Lucas Perri in between the sticks as the Brazilian has joined up on loan for the remainder of the season with Vicente Guaita and Wayne Hennessey both sidelined. Julian Speroni was in goal for the Eagles 4-3 loss to Liverpool.
Additionally, Pape Souare has a shoulder injury that will keep him out until March.
Tottenham Hotspur at Crystal Palace FA Cup 4th Round FYIs
Kickoff: Sunday, January 27, 4pm local, Selhurst Park
Tottenham Hotspur starting XI prediction: go to this link
Odds via Odds Checker: Crystal Palace win 9/5, Draw 12/15, Tottenham Hotspur win 17/10
Tottenham Hotspur to win the whole tournament 17/2
Prediction: Crystal Palace 2, Tottenham Hotspur 1
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.