Everton v Spurs: Not a Time to Come Unstuck Against The Toffees

by Matthew Harris · 8th February 2021

The FA Cup draw sees us take to the road for the third tie in succession but, as the teams thin out, the tasks get tougher. Following away wins at Marine and Wycombe Wanderers, Spurs must now travel to Goodison Park and tackle a strong Everton side who are enjoying a positive season under Carlo Ancelotti.

Sunday’s win over West Brom was a welcome return to winning ways while our opponents on Wednesday came away from Old Trafford with a 3-3 draw a day earlier. Will our change in fortunes develop and can Spurs continue to fight on four fronts or will one of those targets be dropped by Thursday morning?

Team News

Harry Kane made an unexpected return ahead of that West Brom game and Jose Mourinho must now decide whether to keep our striker involved. Kane’s value was underlined by our woeful performances during his absence and the fact that he opened the scoring against the Baggies.

Getting the balance right ahead of a trip to Manchester City at the weekend will be important, as it always is for FA Cup ties so the manager doesn’t just have to assess whether Harry Kane should start.

In terms of definite absentees, it seems that we’re looking at Giovani Lo Celso and Sergio Reguilon once again but, those names aside, Jose has a strong squad which is close to full strength.

Match Odds

There are odds against figures on all three possible outcomes so the bookies may be finding this tough to call. Ahead of the weekend’s games we were clear favourites but Everton have now sneaked in front and are quoted at best odds of 17/10 with BetFred and GentingBet for the win in normal time. Spurs now follow at 9/5 with Betway and SportNation while the draw is on offer at 21/10 with 10Bet and Novibet.

Harry Kane

Those are the figures for the result in 90 minutes and we also have a separate To Qualify market. Here, the teams are tough to split and that’s evidenced by the fact that 10Bet are quoting 6/7 on both Spurs and Everton.

It’s a tight call and few of us would be surprised to see this go into extra time and maybe further. Much could depend on the make up of the sides and who is closer to full strength but the result market is not one to approach with any great confidence.

Side Markets

Harry Kane’s return to fitness leaves him as an option at best odds of 22/5 with Unibet to open the scoring but it’s Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin who starts as favourite at 17/4 with the same bookmaker.

Son Heung-Min and Carlos Vinicius are both quoted at a best of 23/4 with Unibet while Gareth Bale is listed at a top price of 8/1 with Unibet. The Everton pair of Richarlison and James Rodriguez can both be claimed at best odds of 19/2 with Unibet while other options in a Spurs shirt include Dele Alli at 11/1 with Unibet, Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn at 12/1 with Betway and Erik Lamela at 16/1 with Betway.

Moving over to team bets and Both Teams to Score in 90 minutes is on offer at best odds of 10/11 with BetFred and RedZone. We always say that it’s rare to see this market rise above Even Money so that’s not a bad figure for two teams with some productive attackers in their squads.

Turning to Total Goals and we can currently see best odds of 6/5 with BetFred for those who want to bet Over the 2.5 line. It’s even rarer to see that market carry odds against figures and, if you want to push to Over 3.5, you can get a tempting price of 3/1 with BetFred and Novibet.

That leaves us with a correct score suggestion and a higher scoring draw after 90 minutes could be the way to go here. A 2-2 scoreline at the end of normal time currently attracts odds of 14/1 with GentingBet and 888Sport. Alternatively, 2-1 to Tottenham can be claimed at 9/1 with SportNation while that same outcome in favour of Everton can also be found at 9/1 – this time with GentingBet.

Road to the Fifth Round

If things had worked out differently then we might have been playing Rotherham in this match. A second string Everton side needed extra time to overcome the Millers by a 2-1 scoreline in the third round. The Toffees were then drawn against Sheffield Wednesday and the game proved to be far more comfortable. Everton’s line up was notably stronger as goals from Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison and Yerry Mina sealed the 3-0 win.

Everton were our opponents on the opening day of 2020/21 and the Toffees’ 1-0 victory rather set the tone for their season. Dominic Calvert-Lewin was their scorer that day and a productive campaign saw the Toffees’ main striker called up to the full England squad for the first time. In the league, Saturday’s 3-3 draw away to Manchester United leaves Carlo Ancelotti’s side in seventh. They’re a point ahead of Tottenham with a game in hand and that’s another indication which might suggest a tight game on Thursday evening.

Verdict

Regular readers of these previews will know that we usually steer clear of tipping the result but, in taking a draw in an FA Cup match, we’re not really committing. There’s been little to choose between Everton and Spurs across the season and an important game such as this may well lead to a cagey opening 90 minutes.

The next two tips are largely based on tempting prices. While we know that Both Teams to Score has been absent from recent Tottenham fixtures. It’s therefore risen to a decent level at 10/11 and it should drop if the teams are close to full strength. We are less confident about betting Over the 3.5 goal line but can’t recall when we last saw this market hit 3/1 so it’s drawn us in.

There we have it: a 2-2 draw at the end of 90 minutes and we will hopefully scrape through in the extra period. Remember, all of these tips are for normal time only.