Ange Postecoglou’s side will remain at the top of the Premier League with victory at Selhurst Park.
A frisson of excitement has surged through the Tottenham Hotspur support this season, with manager Ange Postecoglou’s magic wand transforming last season’s faulty squad, now topping the Premier League table after nine matches.
With a trip to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace upcoming tonight, Spurs will be focussed on extending their winning run to four matches, and, in doing so, extending their lead to five points ahead of the weekend’s matches.
There is plenty of work left to ply, and there is the old saying in football that the league ladder is not worth analysing until Christmas, but Tottenham’s impressive start to the Premier League campaign is certainly worth lauding, and bespeaks the effect of the Australian boss’ leadership.
Tottenham team news vs Crystal Palace
The Lilywhites are strengthened by the return of midfield machine Yves Bissouma, who returns to the matchday squad following a one-game suspension last time out against Fulham.
However, exciting left-back Destiny Udogie is a fitness doubt after suffering muscular tightness in the victory over the Cottagers on Monday night, where he was withdrawn after 56 minutes.
Pape Sarr is expected to be fit after overcoming illness in the week and this could mean that Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg will return to the bench after earning his first league start of the season last time out.
That aside, Postecoglou has a pretty free rein of team selection and could look to freshen things up in the attacking department by handing Brennan Johnson his first start since returning from a hamstring injury.
Tottenham enjoyed a busy summer transfer window and welcomed a raft of arrivals, though club-record scorer Harry Kane was sold to German giants Bayern Munich in August.
Johnson was one of the later acquisitions, signing from divisional rivals Nottingham Forest for £47.5m after impressing during the Tricky Trees return to the top-flight last year, scoring ten goals and supplying three assists across all competitions during the 2022/23 campaign.
The 21-cap Wales star has made seven appearances for Spurs but limped off against Arsenal in September during his first Premier League start, and returned in the late stages against Fulham.
The £70k-per-week attacker, who can play across the frontline, ranks among the top 5% of positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for progressive carries and the top 10% for tackles per 90, as per FBref, and has previously been hailed for his “frightening” pace by international teammate Joe Allen.
His exploits last season illustrate his abilities and he could bring a fresh sense of attacking impetus to alleviate the burden of the in-form duo James Maddison and Heung-min Son.
While he could feature anywhere across the frontline, it might be wise to provide the 22-year-old with a starting berth on the right, in the stead of Dejan Kulusevski, who has played from the outset across all nine Premier League contests so far, scoring twice and yet to assist.
Kulusevski was electric after joining on loan in January 2022 from Juventus – on an initial loan now made permanent – and plundered five goals and eight assists from 14 Premier League starts during the 2021/22 term.
But last season, injury inhibited his chances at sustaining a rich vein of form and led pundit Glenn Murray to state that he was “blowing hot and cold” after scoring just twice from 37 games all season as Tottenham toiled.
And while the Swede has been in fine fettle this year and played a big part in establishing the early-season success, his position on the offensive wing is not untouchable and a player of Johnson’s ilk certainly warrants a chance to make his mark this evening, whilst offering the ex-Juventus man a chance to rest.
The wealth of exciting options at Postecoglou’s disposal is a testament to the work forged already at this early stage, and it is exactly this kind of depth that will prove so important in the pursuit of triumph at the end of the campaign.
