Spurs v Wolves: Beleaguered Tottenham in need of a Boost

tottenhamA few weeks ago we wouldn’t have expected this game to be pivotal in the race for Champions League places. Tottenham have always been thereabouts with regards to a top four finish and, while Saturday’s defeat to Chelsea puts a dent in our UCL hopes, we remain hopeful of overtaking the Blues in the fixtures that are outstanding.

For Wolves, the aim has been a second consecutive season in the Europa League but suddenly, Manchester City’s misdemeanours have changed the focus. If City’s ban for violating Financial Fair Play laws is upheld, it would be reasonable to assume that the fifth placed team will qualify for the Champions League and in that sense, Sunday’s game is a real six pointer.

It kicks off at 2pm at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but what can we expect across the 90 minutes?

Team News

Tottenham have enjoyed a rare blank week but has that period of inactivity helped in terms of the injury list? The short answer is not really – certainly not in relation to the long term absentees Harry Kane, Moussa Sissoko and Son Heung-Min. All three are expected to remain on the sidelines for a while yet and in terms of Sonny and Harry, there are those doubts as to whether either will feature again this season.

Elsewhere, Dele Alli faces a suspension for his ill-judged video but is available for this game while Juan Foyth could be fit to return. His absence seems to have gone under the radar and it’s doubtful he would make the starting XI in any event. There are no suspensions and until the club confirm things officially, this is what we know so far.

Match Odds

The result market is a tight one and there are odds against numbers available on all three possible outcomes. Spurs will start as favourites and you can currently claim the home side at best industry odds of 6/4 with SportNation and RedZone. Victory for Wolves is your next option at a top price of 29/13 with VBet while the draw completes this market at 11/5 with Betway.

Tottenham were in reasonable form prior to last weekend’s defeat and a loss away to Chelsea is never a disgrace. However, many of us have been fearing the worst after Son Heung-Min joined Harry Kane in the treatment room and with our two main goal threats missing, our potency has been taken out of the team. This may well be the game that defines the rest of the season: Will Sonny’s absence lead to a slump or can those that remain pick up the goal scoring responsibility to help Spurs close the campaign on a positive note?

Other Side Bets

Lucas Moura

Lucas Moura

In the first goalscorer betting, Wolves’ Raul Jimenez moves to the top of the market and you can claim the striker at 21/4 with Unibet and 888Sport. As you may have already guessed, Lucas Moura holds the shortest numbers of anyone wearing a Spurs shirt and the Brazilian is listed at best odds of 6/1 with VBet and 888Sport.

As we’ve seen, Dele Alli has been cleared to play and he can be claimed at a top price of 7/1 with VBet while January signing Steven Bergwijn is slightly further back at 15/2 with VBet once again. Wolves’ Diogo Jota will attract many neutrals at his best odds of 8/1 with BetFred while other picks for Spurs include Erik Lamela at a best of 19/2 with Unibet and 888Sport and Giovani Lo Celso at a top price of 12/1 with VBet.

If we run through our usual list of side bets then we find that Both Teams to Score can be claimed at best odds of 10/11 with BetFred and SportingBet. It’s exceptionally rare to see this bet hit Even Money so we suspect that it will hold some value. Prior to that Espanyol tie, Wolves had scored eight in their previous five matches although there were two 0-0 draws in that period. Tottenham may have their faults in front of goal but we have scored nine in our last five and have only failed to find the net on one occasion.

Those statistics are also encouraging when we take a look at the total goals betting. Those wanting to play relatively safe can go Over the 2.5 line and claim best odds of 5/4 with Unibet. This is another market that rarely touches Even Money so that is a value option in our opinion. If you want to push your luck just a little further, SportNation and RedZone have odds of 16/5 on Over 3.5 goals.

If it is a tight game, a correct score of Spurs 2 Wolves 1 may be the way to go at 9/1 with 10Bet and BetFred while the same scoreline in favour of the away side is on offer at 10/1 with William Hill and Coral.

Alternatively, you could opt for one of our favourite bets and take a winning margin of one goal on either side which is quoted this time at 13/10 with Betway.

Dangerman

So we’ve already seen that Raul Jimenez carries the shortest price of any of the Wolves players in the individual goal scorer markets. The Mexican international initially joined the club on loan at the start of the 2018/19 campaign and while his league record is relatively modest, Jimenez seems to come alive when the club head to Europe.

Prior to Wolves’ Europa League tie with Espanyol on Thursday night, Jimenez had 12 goals in 21 EPL matches this season. That’s a respectable enough tally but when we add in nine from 12 in Europe it becomes a very healthy scoring ratio. Tottenham have that tendency to allow inconsistent strikers to find their form and Raul Jimenez looks to be an obvious dangerman.

Head to Head

wolverhamptonSunday’s game between these two sides will be the 97th time that Spurs and Wolves have faced each other in a professional fixture. We’ve had some memorable battles since the very first game back in 1908 and it’s perhaps surprising that that number hasn’t gone way beyond the 100 mark.

Across those 96 previous fixtures, Tottenham come out on top with a total of 48 wins compared to Wolves’ 28. If you’ve quickly done some maths, you will have already worked out that there are 20 draws to add to that overall list.

Since our opponents arrived back in the Premier League at the start of last season, Spurs have won both games away from home but Wolves won at Wembley by three goals to one in our last game of 2018.

Verdict

Looking at some of the betting markets indicates that the sportsbooks aren’t expecting too many goals in Sunday’s game. That could always be the case and with Kane and Son out of the Spurs team, we’re unlikely to be raining efforts down on anyone’s goal in the run in to the season. One strike may be enough to ‘nick it’ either way but we’re confident that some of those Goals markets hold some value.

Both Teams to Score looks good and, as we mentioned, when it gets to 10/11 or above we’re inclined to take it for any game. Over 2.5 also heads above Even Money and we have a slight preference for that over our usual pick of a one goal winning margin for either team.

For the second week running, we’ll also back Lucas Moura in the goal scoring markets. He’s now the focal point in terms of our goals ratio and while he’s in an unfair position, the Brazilian is the one that has to step up and help to provide a positive end to the campaign.

Best Bets:

  • Lucas Moura to score at any time in 90 minutes at 49/20 with 888Sport
  • Both Teams to Score at 10/11 with BetFred
  • Over 2.5 goals at 5/4 with Unibet

You may also like...