The pressure is mounting on Tottenham ahead of their trip to south London tonight as Antonio Conte's side face Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
Spurs dropped out of the Premier League top four after the last round of fixtures, with the Lilywhites falling to a 2-0 defeat at home to Aston Villa. The result left Spurs in fifth place, and after Manchester United's 3-0 win over Bournemouth yesterday, Spurs sit five points off the Champions League spots. The loss meant Spurs have won just two of their last seven Premier League games, conceding at least two in each game. The pressure is now mounting on Conte, with performances way below par.
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Dejan Kulusevski remains a doubt after missing the clash with Aston Villa, meaning Bryan Gil could start again in the Spurs front three. Yves Bissouma is suspended and will join Rodrigo Bentancur on the sidelines, whilst Lucas Moura and Richarlison remain out with injuries.
So, can Spurs return to winning ways tonight, or will their poor form continue? We simulated the game to find out.
We simulated Crystal Palace vs Spurs to get a score prediction
To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We predict that Palace could line up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Guaita; Clyne, Andersen, Guehi, Ward; Olise, Doucoure, Schlupp; Ayew, Zaha, Eze.
We predict that Spurs could line up in a 3-4-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Lloris; Romero, Dier, Lenglet; Doherty, Skipp, Hojbjerg, Perisic; Gil, Kane, Son.
Spurs started the clash against Palace as the second-best team, with the hosts creating more chances than Conte's side and dominating the midfield battle. Wilfred Zaha and Michael Olise were causing big trouble for Spurs, and the hosts almost took the lead just before the break.
Eberechi Eze skipped past Cristian Romero on the left before sliding a pass through to Wilfred Zaha just inside the box, and as the striker reached the byline, he cut a pass back to Jeffrey Schlupp who entered the area unmarked. In his stride, the midfielder tried to find the bottom corner, but some fantastic reflexes from Hugo Lloris saw the keeper push the effort wide of the post.
Lloris made another top save from the resulting corner from Marc Guehi, sending Spurs into the break level despite having just one shot to Palace's seven. Conte's side showed improvement in the opening stages of the second half, and with just their third shot of the evening, they took the lead through Son Heung-min.
After a Palace attack broke down on the edge of the Spurs box, the visitors pushed forward in numbers, and a three-pass move saw Conte's side end up in a dangerous attacking situation. Harry Kane found the inverted run of Son with a perfectly placed pass, and after one touch out of his feet, the South Korean fired across goal to put his side ahead.
It was far from a deserved lead, but it was a much-needed goal for Spurs as they avoided going behind. As the game went on, Palace regained control of the game, and they managed to find an equaliser after 74 minutes following a Spurs mistake.
Oliver Skipp was shown a yellow card for pulling back Olise on the break, handing Palace a free-kick in a dangerous position. Zaha floated a ball towards the penalty spot, but as Lloris came out to claim the cross, Jordan Ayew flicked the cross forward, looping over the stranded keeper and into an empty net.
Neither side were able to find a winner at Selhurst Park, and the points were shared.
FIFA 23 predicted score: Crystal Palace 1-1 Spurs
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 23 predicts that Spurs could drop points again against Crystal Palace, drawing 1-1 in the simulation. Too many times Conte's side were beaten in midfield, and despite an improved defensive performance, it was a Hugo Lloris error that handed the hosts the equaliser.
What do you think the final score will be in the Boxing Day clash? Let us know in the comments!
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