Why Crystal Palace are 'the last team' embattled Tottenham Hotspur want to play amid Premier League relegation scrap - 'They need something massive'
Tottenham Hotspur are fighting for their Premier League lives after West Ham United and Nottingham Forest made the relegation fight closer than ever by picking up points in midweek. One point separates Spurs from the drop zone ahead of their clash with Crystal Palace on Thursday night - live on TNT Sports. Owen Hargreaves explained why Palace are "the last team" Igor Tudor's men will want to face.
Tottenham Hotspur "need something massive" when they look to ease relegation fears against "the last team they want to play" Crystal Palace on Thursday, according to Owen Hargreaves.
The midweek results left Spurs’ Premier League status looking more vulnerable than ever after West Ham United and Nottingham Forest picked up precious points to leave Igor Tudor’s side hovering just one point above the drop zone.
Former Juventus coach Tudor replaced Thomas Frank in February but has failed to turn around a disastrous run of league form.
Spurs go into Thursday’s clash, live on TNT Sports and discovery+, without a league win in 2026, a run of 10 games that includes defeats in each of the last four.
Hargreaves believes London rivals Palace will be smelling blood and was forthright when asked if a squad that won the UEFA Europa League last season and is unaccustomed to survival scraps will be up for the fight.
"They don’t have a choice. They are in it. They are right in it and with teams who have been there before and are used to it," Hargreaves said.
"They won a Europa League last season. They need to somehow get a bit of form, a bit of momentum.
"The last team you want to play is Crystal Palace with Oliver Glasner, the way he counter-attacks.
"Spurs’ home form has been dreadful for 18 months. Tottenham need something massive [on Thursday] to get themselves out of trouble."
Is Tudor the right man?
Spurs' home form makes for particularly alarming reading, picking up just four home league wins in their last 28 matches.
Shay Given described them as being "in really big trouble", with West Ham in 18th finding some form by beating Fulham, and Forest picking up an impressive point away to Manchester City on Wednesday.
Spurs’ last home win in the Premier League was a 2-0 victory over Brentford on December 6, only their second of the season after defeating Burnley 3-0 on the opening day on August 16.
The arrival of Tudor has not had the desired impact, with the Croatian overseeing a 4-1 north London derby defeat to Arsenal before a 2-1 loss away to Fulham, leading Given to question if it was the right move to bring him in.
"It’s a shocker really," Given said of the home form. "Doing so well in the Champions League as well, you can’t really put your finger on it.
"Tudor has been brought in to try and turn things around, but it’s not really happened. There is no bounce effect with the new manager and people upstairs will be scrambling thinking: ‘Did we make the right appointment?’
"Was it the right decision to get rid of Thomas Frank? Was it the right person to bring in? Because it was a big call to bring in someone who does not really know the Premier League at all.
"But they’re in it now. As Owen said, they’ve got no choice."
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How to watch Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace
Spurs v Palace will be live on TNT Sports 1 and discovery+ with coverage starting at 19:00 UK time on Thursday, March 5.
TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms, offering a line-up of up to four TV channels (TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports 3, TNT Sports 4), and up to six digital or red-button channels (TNT Sports 5 to 10), and TNT Sports Ultimate plus TNT Sports Box Office HD.
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