Tottenham Hotspur are hoping back-to-back wins will be enough to boost their form for Sunday's visit from high-flying Crystal Palace at White Hart Lane.
Mauricio Pochettino's Spurs picked up their first win of the season away at Sunderland last weekend, and followed up that result Thursday with a 3-1 victory over Qarabag in the Europa League at White Hart Lane.
Erik Lamela set up the winner against the Black Cats and scored against the European visitors, but it was summer signing Heung-min Son who stole the show in midweek with his first two goals for the north London club.
"Sonny's a quality player – he's shown that in training and it's no surprise that he scored two," said right back Keiran Trippier, who made his Spurs debut against Qarabag. "I thought he could have got his hat trick as well.
"At the end of the day we've got back-to-back wins now, but we can't get too far ahead of ourselves," Trippier added. "We've got to concentrate on Palace on Sunday now and hopefully get the three points. For me, whenever I'm called upon I'll make sure I do well for the team and the fans."
Spurs (1-3-1) face a midfield selection dilemma, with a number of starting players either absent or doubtful. Nabil Bentaleb (ankle) is out, while Christian Eriksen and Mousa Dembele face late fitness tests. Ryan Mason was injured in the act of scoring the winner against Sunderland and is set to miss out, while defensive midfielder Eric Dier picked up a knock against Qarabag.
That personnel shortage will only further encourage a Crystal Palace side who enter this game on the back of a terrific start to the season. Alan Pardew's side have won three games out of five, with their two defeats coming – narrowly – against expected title challengers Arsenal and Manchester City.
The Eagles nearly secured a point at home versus City last weekend, but a 90th-minute goal by Kelechi Iheanacho resigned them to a 1-0 loss.
Palace's width and pace have been major factors in their rejuvenation under the former Newcastle manager, and Pardew believes that Spurs' fatigue from the Europa League will also be a factor Sunday.
"I have been involved in the Europa League and Tottenham are not the first club to be affected by that," Pardew said. "Playing Thursday and Sunday is tough and the energy levels of some of their players will not be at full capacity, they can't be.
"They'll have their fingers crossed they can produce a Premier league performance after a tough Thursday night. But we will be fresh so that could be an advantage.
"Tottenham are a much bigger club than us in terms of infrastructure, for sure," a confident Pardew added. "They have finances we can't match. But our team is close to Spurs. The 11 that Tottenham put out and we put out will be close."
Palace's form away from home under Pardew has been a revelation. The Eagles (3-0-2) have won 10 out of 12 on the road since he took over – including both away matches this season – and are confident of extending that run against a Spurs side who have struggled to score goals in front of their own fans.
The Eagles will be without striker Marouane Chamakh, but they would have likely started with Bakary Sako as the front man in any case, supported by the club's array of attacking midfield stars. Joe Ledley (hamstring) and Connor Wickham (calf) are both injury doubts.
It was a 1-1 draw when these teams met at White Hart Lane last season. Palace won the reverse fixture 2-1 at Selhurst Park.
