Palace v Spurs - Team news preview

Last updated : 22 January 2005 By Nik Taylor

Spurs’ visit to Selhurst Park on Saturday sees the Premiership’s two most deadly English strikers once again put head-to-head.

In the White Hart Lane clash between these two sides, both Andy Johnson and Jermain Defoe found the scoresheet as Palace ended Spurs’ winning run by carving out a 1-1 draw.

The two hot-shots will battle it out again today, with Palace needing the points badly. Recent weeks have seen the teams above us pulling away – creating a four-team mini-league at the bottom of the Premiership, which the Eagles lead by two points.

All eyes will of course be on Wayne Routledge, with the 20-year-old winger expected to be moving to Spurs either this month or at the end of the season. Despite Routledge being unsettled, he will continue to play out right for Iain Dowie.

Dowie's also boosted by the availability of a few players who missed last week's Man City defeat. Michael Hughes and Danny Granville are both back from suspension, while Joonas Kolkka could return after recovering from his rib injury. The game probably comes too soon for Aki Riihilahti – though the Fin is close to returning after his Achilles knock.

Spurs’ injury problems are worse, with several big names missing from their squad. Fredi Kanoute, Timothee Atouba, Sean Davis, Rohan Ricketts, Simon Davies are all out of today’s match.

Probable Palace XI

Kiraly
Boyce Sorondo Hall Granville
Routledge Leigertwood Hughes Watson Lakis
Johnson