Spurs chase third straight win as Sage's Palace job hangs on result

📰 In-form Tottenham host a Crystal Palace side whose manager's job is on the line. 📌 Key points 🏟️ Tottenham v Crystal Palace kicks off at 5.30pm (UK) on 31 October. 📈 Spurs have won two league games in a row, against Coventry and Chelsea. 🪓 Pierre Sage is reportedly set to be sacked if Palace lose. 🤕 James Maddison is a doubt with a groin injury picked up at Chelsea. 🛑 Rodrigo Bentancur serves the last game of his three-match ban. 📝 What happened 📈 Winless in their first six league games, Tottenham have since beaten Coventry 3-1 and won 2-0 at Chelsea. They are 14th on nine points. 🪓 Ed Aarons reports that Sage will take charge against Fulham in the Carabao Cup and against Tottenham, but "is expected be sacked if they lose against Spurs on Saturday". Palace are 17th on seven points and have conceded 19 goals in eight games, the most in the league. They beat Fulham in the cup in midweek. 🤕 Maddison pulled up early in the second half of the win at Chelsea on 24 October with a groin problem. Previews suggest he could miss a few weeks, though there has been no official diagnosis yet. Destiny Udogie (knee) is also a doubt. ✅ Lucas Bergvall and Tosin Adarabioyo could return, and Bentancur completes his three-match ban for his headbutt red card against Manchester United. 📊 By the numbers • Tottenham: 14th, 9 points, two straight league wins • Palace: 17th, 7 points, 19 conceded (most in the league) • De Zerbi v Palace: four games, two wins, two draws • Palace v Spurs: three wins in the last four meetings 👀 What to watch 🪓 Sage's last stand? — if the reports are right, the result decides the Palace manager's future. 🎯 Replacing Maddison — who supplies the creativity alongside Tonali and Matheus Fernandes if he misses out. 📈 Three in a row — a win would give Spurs their first run of three league wins this season. ⚠️ Palace's good record — they have won three of their last four meetings with Spurs. 🔭 Why it matters De Zerbi, who faced questions about his own job after six winless games, now holds the fate of the opposing manager. A win would cement Tottenham's revival; a defeat would bring the pressure back. Kick-off is 5.30pm UK time on 31 October.