Eberechi Eze has missed Crystal Palace’s last two games with injury (Photo: Getty)

Roy Hodgson has confirmed that Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze haven’t recovered in time for Crystal Palace’s match against Tottenham.

Palace host the Premier League leaders at Selhurst Park on Friday night, with Spurs looking to extend their unbeaten start under Ange Postecoglou to 10 league games.

Victory over Fulham on Monday night moved Spurs back to the top and a win against the South Londoners – who are 11th – will put them five points clear of rivals Manchester City and Arsenal.

And Hodgson, speaking in his pre-match press conference, says he is ‘not surprised’ by how quickly his opposite number has got his side going: ‘I knew Ange many years ago when I worked for a short period in Australia for the City Group. I came across him and spent time with him there.
‘I’ve always known about his quality as a coach. I’ve always been impressed with him as a person, as a leader, so it didn’t surprise me at all that he started well.

He might have been unknown or a bit of a surprise to a lot of people in the country, but he certainly was no surprise to me and what he did at Celtic, which is a tough club to work at, was also incredibly impressive.

‘I don?t know if it’s “Ange Ball”! It?s a very technical way of playing and like Manchester City, it’s a flooding of the midfield with players and, ...