Stats show why Tottenham MUST win against Crystal Palace

Stat Attack: Tottenham in a precarious position ahead of Palace clash.

The numbers behind Tottenham Hotspur’s season paint a grim picture, and the passing network graphic only reinforces the sense that the team simply is not functioning properly. Spurs have scored just 38 goals while conceding 43 and managing only seven clean sheets in the Premier League this season. When you look at the passing structure itself, the imbalance becomes obvious.

Most of the circulation happens between the goalkeeper and the centre backs, with the left centre back acting as the primary outlet, while the attacking players are strangely disconnected from the rest of the shape. Instead of fluid links between midfield and attack, the front four often appear isolated, which explains why Tottenham’s attacks frequently stall before they reach the final third.

That lack of connection has translated directly into results, and the recent run of form makes for painful reading. Tottenham’s last ten Premier League games read: DDLLDDLLLL. It is a stretch that has sucked the life out of their season and dragged them into a relegation fight that would have seemed unthinkable a few months ago. The pattern in those results mirrors what the passing network shows on the pitch: plenty of possession in harmless areas, very little control where it actually matters. Here’s the visualisation of that stat via Squawka.