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Tottenham Hotspur will hope to avoid a third successive league defeat when they face Crystal Palace away on Sunday.
With no Carabao Cup distraction earlier this week following their elimination at the hands of Newcastle United almost two months ago, Tottenham have had more than enough time to reflect on their back-to-back league defeats. Beginning with an embarrassing 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest two weeks ago, a much-improved performance last weekend saw a 9-man Spurs side fight hard but ultimately leave empty-handed in a 2-1 defeat to Liverpool.
That was probably the rare occasion this year where the team were not booed off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and considering their poor record of just 2 wins in 9 league games, supporters were satisfied with the performance, knowing they were victims of some poor refereeing decisions. The atmosphere on the night was incredible, strong enough to even be acknowledged by a Liverpool player afterwards.
Crystal Palace, meanwhile, come into this fixture after their own Carabao Cup dreams were ended by current league leaders Arsenal. Marc Guehi’s stoppage-time equaliser was ultimately in vain as last season’s FA Cup winners were knocked out following an 8-7 defeat in the penalty shoot-out.
They are unlikely to dwell too long on that disappointment, however, given their impressive Premier League form. Palace currently sit 8th in the Premier League table, just 3 points off the top four, although their early-season unbeaten run has taken a hit recently, with no wins in their last four matches in all competitions. That run includes a heavy 4-1 defeat to newly promoted Leeds United in their most recent league outing.
What time does Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur kick off?
- Location: London, England
- Stadium: Selhurst Park
- Date: Sunday, 21 December 2025
- Kick-off time: 4:30pm BST
- Referee: John Brooks
- VAR: Stuart Attwell
Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur: head-to-head record
Although Spurs have historically been dominant against their London rivals, Crystal Palace completed a league double over Tottenham for the first time in their history last season.
However, all three meetings prior to that saw Spurs emerge as comfortable winners.
Even at Selhurst Park, Tottenham have generally had the upper hand, having won 7 of their previous 12 visits, alongside 2 draws and 3 defeats.
Tottenham team news
Speaking to the press, Thomas Frank revealed that the team news remains unchanged from the Liverpool defeat, adding that he would be ‘very happy’ to welcome back Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke, though he did not guarantee either player’s return.
Speaking of the Liverpool match, where two Spurs players were shown controversial red cards, Xavi Simons will miss this fixture as well as Spurs’ next two games, while captain Cristian Romero is also unavailable after his dismissal.
On the brighter side, Radu Dragusin returned to the Spurs squad after almost a year out with an ACL injury, although he remained an unused substitute.
Confirmed absentees include the injured James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Destiny Udogie, along with AFCON participants Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma.
Crystal Palace team news
Oliver Glasner is without several key players for this fixture. Ismaila Sarr is away on AFCON duty, while Daniel Munoz remains sidelined with a knee injury.
Further absentees include Chadi Riad, Daichi Kamada and Cheick Doucoure, all of whom are not expected to return until mid-January.
Predicted line-ups
TOTTENHAM: Vicario; Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Spence; Bentancur, Bergvall, Gray; Kudus, Richarlison, Odobert.
CRYSTAL PALACE: Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Clyne, Wharton, Hughes, Mitchell; Nketiah, Pino; Mateta
Our prediction
With more losses than wins and Tottenham currently sitting 14th in the table, it would be wrong to suggest supporters would be lenient with another defeat, and for that reason Thomas Frank will need to find a way out of the situation he finds himself in.
Keep an eye on Djed Spence, who was Spurs’ best player against Liverpool and is likely to carry that form into this match, especially with more space to attack and without the threat of having to deal with Ismaila Sarr and Daniel Munoz
For Crystal Palace, Marc Guehi will be one to watch. Once on Spurs’ radar, the centre-back has contributed 6 goals already this season and poses a clear threat at set-pieces, meaning Tottenham will need to limit his impact there, while Richarlison’s ability to drive past him with the ball could be key.
Predicted score: Crystal Palace 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur
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