Continuing our '60 seconds on...' preview feature, where we take a closer look at our next opponents with the people who watch them week in, week out.
Next up, it's Crystal Palace in the Premier League at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday evening (8pm UK) and to preview the match, we've called on the services of Matt Woosnam - @MattWoosie - Palace writer for The Athletic, previously a freelance for the South London Press and MailOnline.
It was one defeat in six before United – Palace looked in good shape there at 1-0 up, before United's penalty and the red card – is it safe to say things have settled down somewhat after that run of eight without a win in the PL?
Matt: “Palace are definitely playing better than they were during that run of eight games without a win in the Premier League, which extended to 12 games in all competitions. They have more attacking threat than in those games, I think. Ismaila Sarr has looked good again, having come back from the Africa Cup for Nations with Senegal. They've had the injured players back in Daniel Munoz and Daichi Kamada, and then also they've added on deadline day in the winter transfer window Jorgen Strand Larsen and Evann Guessand. So that's definitely helped them. I think they've been playing better. Defensively, they've also looked much more solid. They kept clean sheets against Brighton, against Wolves, although there was obviously the penalty, but that was well saved. They looked good against Manchester United in that opening half an hour. If it wasn't for the penalty decision, then they may well have got something out of that game. Things are definitely getting back to some semblance of structure and stability. I think the noise around the club with things that had happened with Oliver Glasner and the things that he said didn't help either. I think that has also calmed down a little bit with results going their way. It's definitely a lot better than it was.”
You're there every week, Matt - where do you see Palace at the moment?
Matt: “At the moment, Palace are in a better place than they were. They're in a bit of a strange situation where they are playing for the UEFA Conference League as much as anything, really. It's very unlikely that they're going to get relegated. I don't think many people are thinking about that at the moment. It is still possible that they could get their record points total, albeit very unlikely now, and that was set last year, but it could well be their second highest. It will certainly be a chance to go up there, and that's what Glasner will be looking to do. They haven't been looking like the most threatening team in attack, even though they have improved there. The way they're playing is a bit more subdued and, as I say, focused a bit more on being stable, being structured and not conceding too many goals. That's what Glasner said their foundation was and that's how they'll want to continue playing, is in that sort of set of trying to not concede goals."
Can I ask about two players? How much of a miss is Marc Guehi? How good is it to have Daniel Munoz back?
Matt: “Clearly, losing Marc Guehi was big. He's such an incredible player, so composed, a great behind the scenes as a leader as well. It can't really be overstated how much that can help a team. Palace have got two young, inexperienced centre-backs in Chadi Riad and Jaydee Canvot - a 19-year-old in Canvot, 22 in Riad, both of whom have not had that many games outside of lower league football in Spain and France, but they've done okay. They've stepped up. There's inconsistency there, as you would expect, especially with Riad having spent most of the last 18 months out injured. Palace do miss Guehi bursting forward, carrying the ball and breaking the lines with his passing. That's something that they don't really have from Riad and Canvot. The leadership element as well, simply from the experience that he had and the way that he was and the length of time that he'd been there and the respect that he carried, you can't replicate that easily. So, yeah, clearly, without him, it's not been easy. Maxence Lacroix and Chris Richards have done well, but the inconsistency in team selection in defence due to injury and now suspension for Lacroix (sent off at Old Trafford on Sunday) is something that Glasner spoke about and that has hindered them a bit as well. Daniel Munoz being back has been fantastic for Palace, but he's still feeling, I think, the effects of having been out with that knee injury. I don’t think he’s back to his best yet, and he's just absolutely crucial to the way they play and their way of playing in transition. They really need him to be at his best. He's not quite there yet, but they didn't really have a viable alternative to him who could have any kind of similar impact, especially in attack. So, having him back has been really important.”
Are you seeing anything different tactically from Glasner? How do you think Palace will approach Thursday night's game?
Matt: “Glasner is just going back to basics a little bit more than he had done before, trying to be defensively sound more than anything else, build on that and then hopefully play a bit more in transition as a result of that. They haven't been as rapid, I suppose, in breaking. They've played quite a few teams with low blocks or quite deep defensive lines, he's had to adapt to that, and that's the way that he's done it. They haven't been as convincing as perhaps everyone would have liked them to be, but they've got the results they needed, and they haven't been completely swept away by teams. That's definitely a positive. Glasner is quite tactically inflexible. He doesn't tend to change much. So, there hasn't been a huge amount of difference there. I expect he'll continue in the same way for this game as well. I don't think he'll change much around. It will be interesting to see who he plays in the attacking number 10 roles. He's switched between Yeremy Pino, Brennan Johnson and Evann Guessand to partner Ismaila Sarr, who's a shoo-in to start when fit and available. Guessand carries the ball more, whereas Johnson, as Spurs know, will try and get in behind and use his pace in a similar way, I suppose, to Sarr, but slightly different. Pino's more technical, more sort of a crosser, passer, whereas Guessand's a ball carrier, which Palace have been missing. So, that's what he'll decide on - which one of those to use.”
Finally, how do you see it playing out on Thursday night?
Matt: “It's a tough one to call. Obviously, Spurs are not in good form, but Palace haven't been as convincing as they would like. At the same time, they're doing okay and they've reset a bit. Palace probably have enough to win this game, but I can definitely see it being a draw. I think it'll be very difficult for Spurs, given their form, but we've seen what happened with Wolves (Palace scored late to win 1-0), Burnley beat Palace (3-2, 11 February) as well. So, it's hard to be sure, but I think Palace will be looking at this as one that they'll want to expect to at least get a point from and probably take all three.”
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