Crystal Palace V Tottenham Barclays Premier League Match 18 -August 2013.Tottenham have confirmed Real Madrid transfer target Gareth Bale will not play due to a foot injury.
Jan Vertonghen is doubtful, Lewis Holtby is out injured and Emmanuel Adebayor will not feature as he has been away on compassionate leave.Watch Crystal Palace V Tottenham Live, Watch Crystal Palace V Tottenham Live Stream, Watch Crystal Palace V Tottenham Free Live Stream, Watch Crystal Palace V Tottenham Online, Watch Crystal Palace V Tottenham Online Free, Crystal Palace V Tottenham Live, Crystal Palace V Tottenham live stream Online
Crystal Palace's Jerome Thomas will have to wait for his debut as he has not yet recovered from an ankle injury.
Paddy McCarthy is back in training but is not yet fit, while Glenn Murray and Yannick Bolasie are also out.
MATCH PREVIEW
In many respects it's been a good summer for Tottenham, with Andre Villas-Boas turning down the chance to head for Paris Saint-Germain and the signing of some real quality in the transfer market as they look to break into the top four, but it's all overshadowed at the moment by someone who won't even be at Selhurst Park for this one: Gareth Bale.
The saga of whether or not he'll go to Real Madrid has towered over everything else for Spurs and it's no surprise they are reluctant to sell. He's a difference maker even in a good team, as we all know.
LAWRO'S PREDICTION
Image of Mark Lawrenson Mark Lawrenson Football analyst
"In lots of ways, Crystal Palace under Ian Holloway in the Premier League remind me of Blackpool under Holloway in the Premier League - they are going to look to get lots of players forward and look to score lots of goals. They will probably concede lots too, but it is going to be fun to watch them!"
Read Lawro's full prediction and score
As a neutral observer, it'll be a shame not to see him out there against newly-promoted Crystal Palace, but I'm sure he won't be missed too much by the home crowd as they hope for a positive start to the new season.
Spurs have spent some big money this summer with the probability of further activity before the window closes. Chairman Daniel Levy has broken the club's transfer record twice, with midfielder Paulinho coming in from Corinthians for £17m and then striker Roberto Soldado arriving from Valencia for £26m.
It's Crystal Palace's lot to be mentioned by all and sundry as relegation candidates following their latest elevation to the big time via the play-off final at Wembley.
It's true that each of their four previous campaigns in the Premier League have ended with a fall through the trap door, but it's also true that Ian Holloway's team will relish the chance to have a go against the best at Selhurst Park and maybe cause an upset or two on the road.
They'll miss the talent of Wilfried Zaha, now with Manchester United, and the goals of Glenn Murray, who is recovering from a cruciate knee ligament injury, but Holloway has strengthened where he can and will continue in that vein right up until the window closes. Striker Dwight Gayle is the club's record signing from Peterborough for an initial £4.5m and was at Bishops Stortford just over a year ago.
He scored 13 goals in 29 appearances for Peterborough last season and could prove to be an astute signing. Marouane Chamakh will be glad to emerge from the wilderness at Arsenal and another player to keep an eye on is Jose Campana, the captain of Spain's Under-20 side. The deep-lying midfielder has twice won the European title at Under-19 level with his country.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
Palace have scored in all but one of their previous eight Premier League fixtures against Tottenham. In fact, they have scored more goals (10) against Spurs than against any other side in the division.
The Eagles have lost only one of their last six Premier League games against Spurs.
Both teams finished last season on 72 points and finished fifth in their respective leagues. Spurs finished fifth in the Premier League after 38 matches, while Palace were fifth in the Championship following their 46 games.
In eight previous Premier League encounters, both teams have identical records having won two apiece with the other four matches ending in draws.
Crystal Palace
The Eagles won 16 penalties, more than any other side, in the Championship last season, including the one in the play-off final that took them to the Premier League.
The last time Palace opened up a Premier League season with a home match at Selhurst Park, they lost 6-1 to Liverpool in 1994-95.
Both Palace and their opposition have scored in all four of the Eagles' opening-day fixtures in the Premier League.
Tottenham
This will be the 16th time Tottenham have played away from home in their opening Premier League game, a competition-record. They have only managed to win two of their last 12 opening-day fixtures (W2, D4, L6).
Tottenham scored 16 goals from outside the box in the top-flight last season, the most in the top flight. Gareth Bale was responsible for nine of them.
Their total of 72 points last season was the highest ever Premier League total recorded by a team finishing outside the top four. In the 2010-11 season that would have been enough for Spurs to finish second.
Tottenham and Swansea were the only clubs not to be awarded a single penalty kick last season - the first time this has happened since Charlton Athletic in 2004-05.