Graeme Souness feels Tottenham Hotspur are now under extreme pressure following Chelsea's win over Southampton at Stamford Bridge.
Antonio Conte's side ran out 4-2 winners over the Saints, with goals from Eden Hazard, Gary Cahill and Diego Costa (two) proving too much for the visitors to handle.
Chelsea are now seven points clear at the top of the Premier League table and the gauntlet has been thrown to Spurs to respond away at Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.
And Souness believes the result at Stamford Bridge has cranked up the pressure on Tottenham.
"They are putting Tottenham under so much pressure", Souness said on Sky Sports.
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"Now they know they really can't slip up.
"I think this might be, in the bigger picture, a really important game, given I was at Liverpool on Sunday and Palace are not an easy team to play right now.
"They [Spurs] will have to be at the top of their game."
Tottenham must now respond to Chelsea's win when they play Palace, who head into the match full of confidence after a 2-1 win away at Liverpool.
Sam Allardyce's men have also shown good form at Selhurst Park and thrashed Arsenal 3-0 at the ground earlier this month; the Eagles now sit 12th in the league.
