Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to snatch sixth position from Wolverhampton Wanderers when they finish their 2019-20 Premier League campaign away to struggling Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon.
Spurs are currently seventh in the table, one point behind sixth-placed Wolves, while Palace have slipped into 14th following a run of seven straight defeats.
Match preview
© Reuters
Palace's form since beating Bournemouth on June 20 has been incredibly disappointing, losing each of their last seven in the Premier League to go from top-half challengers to a side occupying 14th spot in the table.
The Eagles cannot finish lower than 14th regardless of what happens on Sunday, but they could take 13th away from Newcastle United depending on what occurs on the final weekend, with the Magpies taking on Liverpool.
Roy Hodgson's side have lost each of their last three league games at Selhurst Park to Burnley, Chelsea and Manchester United, and it would be fair to say that their performance levels have seriously dipped since reaching 40 points, which will have disappointed their supporters.
It promises to be an interesting summer transfer window for the club as Hodgson has recently spoken of his desire to sign a new striker, with the London outfit once again struggling for goals, netting just 30 times in the league, which is the second worst record behind already-relegated Norwich City.
© Reuters
Spurs, on the other hand, will enter this weekend's match in impressive form, having won each of their last three in the Premier League.
Jose Mourinho's side lost at Sheffield United on July 2 but have won four and drawn one of their five matches since, including victories over Arsenal and Leicester City in two of their last three during a strong run of form.
There is no question that Mourinho will be keen to boost his squad this summer, but there have been plenty of positive signs in recent games, and a spot in next season's Europa League could be on the cards.
Spurs are guaranteed to finish at least seventh in the league, which would bring a Europa League place for the 2020-21 campaign providing that Chelsea win the FA Cup.
As mentioned, though, the capital side are only a point behind sixth-placed Wolves, who go to Chelsea on Sunday, and claiming sixth would be a success for Spurs considering their problems during the season.
Palace Premier League form: LLLLLL
Tottenham Premier League form: LWDWWW
Team News
© Reuters
Palace will again be without the services of James Tomkins, Gary Cahill, Mamadou Sakho and Patrick van Aanholt through injury, but club captain Luka Milivojevic has a chance of returning from the knee problem that forced him to miss the clash with Wolves last time out.
Christian Benteke is still suspended, though, meaning that Wilfried Zaha and Jordan Ayew are likely to again start as the front two in a 4-4-2 formation.
Andros Townsend and Jeffrey Schlupp should also keep their spots in the side, with James McCarthy the player expected to drop out should Milivojevic prove his fitness before the encounter.
Martin Kelly could take Sakho's spot at the back, while Tyrick Mitchell is expected to continue at left-back despite the availability of Jairo Riedewald.
Tottenham will again be without the services of Tanguy Ndombele through injury, but Dele Alli is available, having recovered from the hamstring problem which has kept him out of the team's last five matches.
Eric Dier is also available after completing his suspension, meaning that Mourinho has plenty of decisions to make when it comes to his starting XI on Sunday afternoon.
Alli's return could see Giovani Lo Celso drop to a deeper position, with Harry Winks potentially the player to miss out, although Dier might be forced to accept a spot on the bench due to the form of Toby Alderweireld and Davinson Sanchez in central defence.
Palace possible starting lineup:
Guaita; Ward, Dann, Kelly, Mitchell; Townsend, McArthur, Milivojevic, Schlupp; Zaha, Ayew
Tottenham possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Aurier, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Davies; Lo Celso, Sissoko; Son, Alli, Lucas; Kane
We say: Palace 0-2 Tottenham
Palace will be keen to end their campaign with a positive result, but we are finding it incredibly difficult to back a side that have lost their last seven Premier League games. Tottenham will be feeling pretty about themselves at the moment, and we fancy Mourinho's side to put another three points on the board.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Tottenham Hotspur win with a probability of 50.98%. A draw had a probability of 25.7% and a win for Crystal Palace had a probability of 23.35%.
The most likely scoreline for a Tottenham Hotspur win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.76%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (9.82%) and 1-2 (9.34%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.13%), while for a Crystal Palace win it was 1-0 (7.89%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.1% likelihood.
