Tottenham must follow Chelsea display at Crystal Palace to prove top four credentials

Tottenham need to show they can follow-up one strong effort with another as they visit desperate Crystal Palace

The form of striker Harry Kane, centre, has been integral to Tottenham's recent run of good form. Richard Heathcote/Getty Image

Tottenham were superb in beating Chelsea on New Year’s Day, producing a performance of vibrancy, organisation and heart to blast open the races for the title and the top four. The question is what happens next.

Too often, Tottenham have produced one stellar performance or result but failed to follow up with another. Beating Chelsea was huge, not least because of Spurs’ awful record against them, but the real test of how much Mauricio Pochettino has changed this team will come at Crystal Palace on Saturday evening.

It is a big game for Palace, too, their first in the league under Alan Pardew and an indication of how he intends to play. Palace will be without Yannick Bolasie, away on African Cup of Nations duty with DR Congo, but they will still depend on the flanks, on Jason Puncheon and Wilfried Zaha, as their main avenue of attack.

Palace’s wingers have looked devastating in some games, against Liverpool most notably, but part of their problem this season has been that they often get in good positions in wide areas and then hit poor crosses.

Bolasie is the worst offender, having found his target with just 16 of 111 crosses, but Puncheon has misplaced 72 of 99 crosses and Zaha 27 of 35. In part that’s to do with the players – or, more often, player – in the middle. The injury problems suffered by Marouane Chamakh, denying Palace his power, have clearly hurt them. The Moroccan is still struggling with a calf injury but could return.

Palace have also struggled to get players up in support of their striker. Their 4-2-3-1 shape is not dissimilar to Pardew’s Newcastle, but there he had Moussa Sissoko to link the midfield and forward lines. Whether Joe Ledley can do that is debatable. He was excellent in the role against Liverpool and scored the second goal. But Palace need someone breaking from midfield to provide an extra target for the wingers and to pick up on any second balls.

Given how Tottenham played against Chelsea, the suspicion is that Pardew will start cautiously, possibly using Ledley deep in more of a 4-3-3, hoping Zaha and Puncheon can pose enough of a threat on the break.

That may play into Tottenham’s hands. Of all the many impressive things about their win over Chelsea, perhaps the most surprising was the way they took the battle to Chelsea on the flank. It is true that Kyle Walker never really got to grips with Eden Hazard, but Danny Rose, as well as scoring, effectively stifled Willian.

For Spurs, the issue is psychological as much as tactical. If they press high and if Palace sit deep, the game could end up being played largely in the home team’s half. That could mean a lack of space for the forwards, frustration magnified by the sense of heightened expectation after the win over Chelsea.

Progress is made not just in the big games but against lower-ranking opposition as well.

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