Tottenham Hotspur made it three consecutive wins with a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace, but there were a few interesting details in Roberto De Zerbi’s team selection and substitutions that were perhaps easy to overlook. Position Team Played MP Won W Drawn D Lost L For GF Against GA Diff GD Points Pts 1 Manchester CityManchester City9 7 0 2 20 10 10 21 2 ArsenalArsenal8 7 0 1 13 5 8 21 3 BrightonBrighton9 6 1 2 24 7 17 19 4 ChelseaChelsea9 5 1 3 19 15 4 16 5 LiverpoolLiverpool8 4 3 1 11 8 3 15 6 BrentfordBrentford9 3 5 1 16 9 7 14 7 BournemouthBournemouth9 3 3 3 14 13 1 12 8 TottenhamTottenham9 3 3 3 10 10 0 12 9 Aston VillaAston Villa9 3 3 3 10 13 -3 12 10 Hull CityHull City9 2 5 2 11 10 1 11 11 LeedsLeeds9 2 5 2 9 8 1 11 12 NewcastleNewcastle8 3 2 3 12 14 -2 11 13 IpswichIpswich9 3 2 4 14 18 -4 11 14 EvertonEverton8 2 4 2 8 9 -1 10 15 FulhamFulham9 2 3 4 9 11 -2 9 16 CoventryCoventry9 3 0 6 9 16 -7 9 17 Manchester UnitedManchester United9 1 4 4 10 15 -5 7 18 Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace9 2 1 6 9 21 -12 7 19 Nottingham ForestNottingham Forest9 1 3 5 6 12 -6 6 20 SunderlandSunderland9 1 2 6 7 17 -10 5 Roberto De Zerbi refused to take any risks with Pedro PorroPedro Porro went down with a hamstring injury during the 2-3 defeat to Aston Villa in September and subsequently spent a month on the sidelines. He returned to the matchday squad for last weekend’s trip to Stamford Bridge, coming off the bench with 25 minutes remaining and looking perfectly comfortable.That naturally led to expectations that the Spaniard would return to the starting XI against Palace. However, De Zerbi opted against rushing him back, instead introducing him at half-time. Porro went on to enjoy an excellent 45 minutes.The manager explained after the game that the decision was taken to avoid any unnecessary risks, saying:“Pedro is ready. We didn’t take risks, speaking with him, he decided before the game, he was very honest with me. And I appreciate a lot because Premier League it’s 38 games, not one game.”Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty ImagesJames Maddison was not quite ready to return for TottenhamJames Maddison suffered an injury scare against Chelsea last weekend, going down just five minutes into the second half with a groin problem. De Zerbi had confirmed before the Palace fixture that the midfielder was available, but still opted to leave him out of the starting XI.Maddison made the bench, although he never got onto the pitch despite many expecting him to receive a few minutes towards the end. De Zerbi offered a hint as to why shortly before kick-off, explaining:“Just the physical condition…To be clear James is very important for us, when he feels good, he plays”It seems Maddison was not quite comfortable enough to feature. That was probably the right call, as Spurs were in control for most of the afternoon following Jean-Philippe Mateta’s early red card. Still, breaking down Palace’s defensive block would certainly have been easier with Maddison available.Hopefully, he is back to full fitness ahead of next weekend’s clash against Leeds United.Mathys Tel is clearly earning Roberto De Zerbi’s trustMathys Tel had been left out of the starting XI for three consecutive games before the trip to Chelsea last weekend. He made the most of his opportunity at Stamford Bridge, scoring an incredible solo goal and helping Spurs secure their first win there in eight years.The Frenchman carried that confidence into the Palace fixture, creating more chances than anyone else on the pitch (4) and completing the most dribbles (6).His decision-making in the final third, which De Zerbi criticised last month, also appears to have improved considerably. Tel has looked far less wasteful in possession lately. Even when a move does not quite come off, he is increasingly finding ways to make something happen, whether that means getting past his marker or winning a corner at the very least. He did plenty of the latter against Palace.M. TelTottenham – Premier League (2026 – 2027)Appearances7Minutes Played448Average Rating6.70Goals1Assists0Key Passes9Dribble Attempts37Successful Dribbles20Yellow Cards0Red Cards0Stats correct as of 1 November 2026.Luca Williams-Barnett got his opportunity despite a stacked Tottenham benchThere were perhaps few better opportunities for De Zerbi to hand Luca Williams-Barnett his much-anticipated Premier League debut. Spurs had a two-goal lead, a man advantage and just two minutes of normal time remaining when the 18-year-old academy prospect was introduced.Even so, considering the circumstances, a more defensive substitution would hardly have been surprising. De Zerbi had Ben Davies and Marcos Senesi among his options on the bench, yet chose to give Williams-Barnett his moment.The youngster certainly made an impression. He showed some excellent footwork inside the box and produced a perfectly weighted pass to Mohammed Kudus at the back post, putting the Ghanaian in front of what should have been a simple tap-in. Somehow, Kudus managed to miss it.It was only a brief cameo, but Williams-Barnett showed enough to suggest that De Zerbi may not hesitate quite so much before giving him another opportunity.Dejan Kulusevski was deployed as Tottenham’s number nineDejan Kulusevski‘s return has been carefully managed. He made his long-awaited comeback during the 3-1 victory over Coventry two weeks ago, coming on with just a minute of normal time remaining. He then received another brief appearance against Chelsea, introduced with three minutes left.Against Palace, however, De Zerbi brought the Swede on with around 15 minutes remaining. More interestingly, he was deployed as the false nine, operating as Tottenham’s most advanced central player.De Zerbi had previously suggested that Kulusevski could feature in positions beyond his natural right-wing role, even mentioning the number 10 position. A role through the middle as a number nine or false nine, however, had not been on the cards.He found himself in a few promising positions and could even have ended the evening with a goal, had Dean Henderson not produced a good save to tip his curling effort around the post.It will be interesting to see whether De Zerbi explores that option again as Kulusevski continues to build up his minutes.READ MORE: Five things we learned as Tottenham beat Crystal Palace 2-0 in the Premier League – Spurs WebThe post Five big squad decisions De Zerbi made at Tottenham this week that you may have missed appeared first on Spurs Web.