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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to bounce back from the 1-0 defeat they suffered at home to Newcastle United in their previous home Premier League match when they host Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Spurs looked on course to bounce back from that disappointment with three points away at arch-rivals Arsenal prior to the international break having taken a 2-0 lead, but they were pegged back and eventually had to settle for a point.
This weekend, they come up against an Eagles team that have hit some form themselves following a defeat against newly-promoted Sheffield United, winning 2-1 against Manchester United at Old Trafford before a home success against Aston Villa last time out.
Usually when you think of Palace’s main danger man, you think of Wilfried Zaha – and rightly so, especially after he scored 10 goals and provided a further 10 assists in 34 top flight outings in 2018/19, as per Transfermarkt.
However, it probably isn’t the case ahead of the visit of Roy Hodgson’s men this time around.
The Ivory Coast international has no goals or assists for the south London club in four Premier League appearances so far this term, while he has only averaged 0.5 key passes per outing, as per WhoScored.
Meanwhile, his African teammate Jordan Ayew has come to the fore and was the hero against both United and Villa, matching his goalscoring tally of two from the whole of last season in those encounters.
At this early stage of the campaign, he has established himself as his team’s main attacking threat, and as well as beating Zaha’s key passes record with 0.7 per game to date, he has also successfully completed an average of 1.3 dribbles.
The likes of Christian Benteke and Zaha could give a Tottenham defence that has looked far from secure in the opening weeks a problem to deal with, but the Spurs backline can’t afford to forget about Ayew given the form he is in.
One goal from Joelinton was enough for Newcastle in August, and Ayew clearly has the quality and the confidence to find the net, too.
And given Palace’s impressive record of just two goals conceded in their four Premier League matches, that could easily prove to be enough if they can maintain their defensive organisation.
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