Tottenham: Spotlight on Emerson Royal as Spurs look to get back on track after hiatus

Anyone stepping out at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the first time enjoys a moment of awed appreciation at the grandeur of the place, but new Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner has been there before.

Glasner's Eintracht Frankfurt lost 3-2 at Tottenham in the Champions League last season and the Austrian was back at the ground to watch Ange Postecoglou's side labour in a 2-1 defeat by Wolves in their last game, on February 17.

Wolves should have given Glasner plenty of ideas on how Palace can frustrate Postecoglou's stuttering team: defend in numbers, press intelligently, counter quickly and funnel possession into Emerson Royal — assuming the Brazilian continues to deputise at right-back for Pedro Porro, who is an injury doubt.

Spurs have had two weeks off since the Wolves defeat to lick their wounds, after their visit to Chelsea was postponed due to the Blues' involvement in the Carabao Cup Final, and Postecoglou will hope the break can lead to a reset and a return to their early-season form.

Performance-wise, Spurs have been middling for months — their last really convincing display was arguably the 4-1 win over Newcastle on December 10 — and the Wolves defeat was coming after they scraped past Burnley, Brentford and Brighton at home.

They are still struggling for fluency in the final third and there is a sense that opponents know how Postecoglou's Spurs are going to play, with Wolves boss Gary O'Neil revealing his side "pretty much envisioned it how we got it" last time out.

Glasner will also be braced for Tottenham's approach tomorrow, and his Palace players are old hands at frustrating opponents after working under his predecessor Roy Hodgson and well-placed to exploit the space behind Spurs's full-backs — particularly if Eberechi Eze is fit to start after returning to full training.

Glasner switched to a back-three for the 3-0 win over Burnley in his first game in charge last weekend, and Palace are likely be tough to crack and dangerous in transition, with two wing-backs dropping into a five-man defence without the ball, while haring forward in possession.

Spurs might have preferred to play a Palace drifting under Hodgson rather than galvanised by new management, although Glasner's side are more likely to demand the ball and make a game of it, which should suit the hosts.

Michael Olise remains sidelined, while key centre-back Marc Guehi will miss up to eight weeks after undergoing knee surgery this week.

Spurs are still in the fledgling stage of their development under Postecoglou, however, and the Australian will not be concerned by teething problems, even if the race for fourth place has narrowed; Spurs begin the weekend five points behind Aston Villa and three clear of Manchester United, albeit having played a game fewer than both.

While Postecoglou's core principles will never change, there is a question of whether he could make tweaks against Glasner's new-look side, who took until the 68th minute to make the breakthrough against the 10-man Clarets but nonetheless displayed some encouraging trends.

Emerson was Tottenham's weak link against Wolves, struggling to invert into midfield with the same effectiveness as Porro and pressed into repeated mistakes.

Adventurous full-backs are a hallmark of Postecoglou's system, but if Porro is sidelined this weekend, he could instruct Emerson to stick closer to his flank or try another player in the role.

At least Destiny Udogie is expected to return at left-back, which should give Spurs more of an outlet on the opposite flank, while Postecoglou faces a decision in midfield after a ponderous display from Yves Bissouma against Wolves. Rodrigo Bentancur is pushing for a return to the XI.

Heung-min Son scored twice against Glasner's Frankfurt in Spurs's victory in October 2022, one of his best performances of last season, and Postecoglou has the option of moving the South Korean back to centre-forward tomorrow.

Postecoglou believes that when Spurs eventually click, opponents will be just as prepared for their approach but powerless to stop it working. The question as they return to action against Glasner's Palace is whether Spurs will emerge from their two-week hiatus rusty or rejuvenated.