Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

Thomas Frank gauges Tottenham squad confidence for surviving festive fixture frenzy

Originally posted on To The Lane And Back
By Rohan Sengupta | Last updated Dec 25, 2025 2:09 PM ET

Tottenham will play four Premier League games in a span of 12 days during the upcoming festive period.

Tottenham Hotspur will look to get back on track in the Premier League when they play Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday.

It is now back-to-back defeats for the north Londoners, just as it appeared they had turned a corner with successive wins over Brentford and Slavia Praha at the start of the month. They go into this weekend’s London derby hoping to avoid a third straight loss, but will be without their skipper, Cristian Romero and playmaker Xavi Simons against Crystal Palace after being sent off in the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool last weekend.

Xavi Simons saw his Saturday evening come to a premature end in the 33rd minute when he caught fellow Dutchman Virgil van Dijk’s Achilles with a reckless studs-up challenge. Referee John Brooks initially brandished a yellow card to the midfielder but upon a VAR review, it was upgraded to red. Deep into stoppage time with the scoreline 2-1, Cristian Romero was shown a second yellow card for kicking out at Ibrahima Konate during their tussle on the ground.

Thomas Frank in buoyant mood ahead of Crystal Palace game

In addition, Thomas Frank still has several key players missing ahead of the trip to Crystal Palace. The Dane is under huge pressure, given the current situation, with fans growing extremely frustrated with poor performances and results.

When facing the media in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday evening, Frank was asked how confident he is with the current depth of the squad to overcome this block of games with positive results. To which, the Spurs boss, gauging the squad’s confidence, said:

“I’m confident we can get good results. Of course, you always want a fully fit squad. But right now, we have the players we have available and we need to deal with it and find a way and get good performances out there and results.”

Frank’s side need to go on a winning run

Back-to-back league defeats to Forest and Liverpool have left Tottenham 14th in the table. The Premier League is unforgiving, and during this festive period, games are set to come thick and fast. They play four league games in a span of 12 days, and with the squad already stretched in certain areas due to suspensions and injuries, it is a big task for the available players to step up to the plate.

The trip to Palace represents a stiff challenge. The Eagles did a league double over Tottenham last season, and after being ousted by Arsenal in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, they will be desperate to prove a point on Sunday.

Knowing the hostility of Selhurst Park and the quality of Palace, Frank and Co. have to produce their A game to beat the hosts.

This article first appeared on To The Lane And Back and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: