Palace can cause a shock with Pardew back in town
HAVING already parted ways with Tony Pulis before a ball had even been kicked, Crystal Palace bizarrely became the next Premier League club to relieve their manager of his duties by replacing the lacklustre Neil Warnock with Alan Pardew.
Pardew’s tenure at Newcastle drew praise and criticism almost in equal measure on and off the pitch. But, purely from a footballing perspective, he steadied the ship in often-choppy waters, so it’ll be interesting to see how he fares returning to the club where he played for four seasons.
He started with a 4-0 win at Dover in the FA Cup, but a visit from Tottenham in tomorrow’s late kick-off will be an altogether sterner test.
After a shaky start under Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs’ season has slowly built up a head of steam. They now find themselves in fifth place, having usurped bitter rivals Arsenal last weekend with a fantastic 5-3 win over league leaders Chelsea.
They’re on a seven match unbeaten streak in all competitions, though they will have been frustrated by their inability to overcome Burnley in the FA Cup on Monday. The 1-1 draw meaning they will have to face a potentially draining replay in a January already stacked with fixtures.
The replay comes next Wednesday, and with a two legged League Cup semi-final to keep an eye on before the month is out, expect a fair amount of rotation here as Pochettino tries to keep all of his plates spinning.
This could definitely work in Palace’s favour, and the ‘feel-good’ factor of a new manager might give them the boost needed here to sneak an unexpected upset, ending a winless run of eight in the league. They can be backed at 13/5, but a better option is to take the 6/4 for Palace draw no bet.
Beyond the result, I can’t see this being a particularly enthralling affair. Palace have scored in just two of their last seven Premier League games, as well as holding the dubious honour of having committed the most fouls in the division, so this could be a scrappy affair.
Harry Kane is on fire at the moment, but Spurs might be relying on him too much and a sell of goals at 2.45 with Sporting Index looks the way to go.
■ Pointers…
Crystal Palace draw no bet at 6/4 general
Sell total goals at 2.45 with Sporting Index