History chasing Tottenham and Crystal Palace granted dream scenario in unique Premier League London derby | OneFootball

Stakes are low for the London derby as Tottenham and Crystal Palace eye success in cup competitions

If Spurs' league form felt like an afterthought before they booked their place in an all-English showpiece, now it is a total irrelevance.

Who cares if Spurs finish 17th, as the worst of the rest in the top-flight, if they win a first European trophy in 41 years?

As such, Sunday's visit of Crystal Palace has next to no significance in its own right for Spurs, and is little more than a chance for fans to begin a 10-day build up to the final in Basque country and for Postecoglou to manage his squad.

Nine of his preferred 11 completed the full match on Glimt's artificial pitch in chilly conditions in the Arctic Circle on Thursday night, so Postecoglou will surely make wholesale changes against the mid-table Eagles.

Guglielmo Vicario will likely continue between the sticks, while one of the three midfielders from mid-week may be needed to go again, most like Rodrigo Bentancur who sat out the 1-1 draw at West Ham last weekend.

Dejan Kulusevski's creativity would be useful in the absence of James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall – both ruled out for the rest of the season with ligament damage – while there is a case that the Swede could do with the minutes to play himself into some form ahead of the Final.

Dejan Kulusevski has a big role to play in the Europa League Final

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Otherwise, cotton wool and caution will be the orders of the day, with Postecoglou all but certain to protect Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Dominic Solanke, in particular, given their importance to Spurs' hopes of a first European trophy in 41 years.

The Australian will, though, hope to to use captain Heung-min Son from the bench after the Korean missed the trip to Norway with a foot complaint.

If Son continues to struggle, the left-wing remains the one position in Postecoglou’s side which is potentially up for grabs.

Richarlison worked tirelessly in both legs against the Norwegian champions, creating the opener in north London and pressing well from the front in Thursday's 2-0 win.

Spurs, though, scored twice shortly after Mathys Tel’s introduction from the bench, with the young Frenchman swinging in the corner from which Solanke broke the deadlock on the night.

It was the latest in a series of lively showings from the loanee from Bayern Munich, who should have another chance to advance his case for inclusion in Bilbao against the Eagles.

Chance to impress: Mathys Tel

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Palace, too, have their eyes on a game of far greater significance as they prepare for the FA Cup Final against Man City on May 17th, six days after their trip across London.

Oliver Glasner, the Palace head coach, will similarly be viewing the Spurs game as a chance to either rest key players or keep them ticking over before Wembley.

Rarely, then, can a Premier League game have felt quite so meaningless, and yet the atmosphere should be positive, with both sets of fans tingling with anticipation at the prospect of making history and surely unbothered by the outcome on the day.

With such low-stakes, the tackles will be tame and the intensity low, but at least the vibes promise to be good.