Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City: On to Wembley at the End of a Difficult Week

by Matthew Harris · 22nd April 2021

If you’d been unfortunate enough to slip into a brief coma for the last seven days then you’d surely be surprised to see Ryan Mason leading out Spurs at Wembley on Sunday afternoon. As you continued to come round, you’d be shocked to learn that this isn’t even the biggest story to have come out of Tottenham this week.

We always try to look at the positives: Many of us realised that Jose Mourinho’s time was up and, as we bid farewell to another manager, we leave the European Super League with our unbeaten record intact.

It all makes for a strange atmosphere around the club as we prepare to face Manchester City in the EFL Cup Final. It’s a 4.30pm kick off but can we upset the odds and claim a first major trophy in 13 years?

Team News

With other news taking the focus away from injuries, Harry Kane’s ankle problem has gone under the radar. It’s strange that there’s been no concrete prognosis but perhaps we’ve looked to keep an air of mystery ahead of a Cup Final.

Ryan Mason commented on Wednesday that he wasn’t sure whether Kane would be ready and that’s all we really have. Our feelings are that he’s unavailable but we that the club don’t want to concede that point at this early stage.

Elsewhere, there’s been no sign of Ben Davies or Matt Doherty and neither player was involved in Wednesday night’s 2-1 win over Southampton. Once again, there is no confirmed news on either player. It’s all a little unclear but obviously there have been other issues with the club over the last few days. Therefore, we’ll just have to wait for Ryan’s press conference ahead of the final.

Match Odds

The match result markets hold no surprises with Manchester City starting as clear favourites. Pep Guardiola’s men can be found at odds of 8/15 with 888Sport and GentingBet to win the game in 90 minutes. The draw at the end of normal time is next at a top price of 15/4 with MansionBet while victory for Spurs can be claimed at best odds of 51/10 with Novibet.

Those are the figures for the result in normal time and would exclude any additional period. That means we have a separate To Lift the Trophy market which would take into account extra time and potential penalties. Here, City drop to best odds of 3/10 with Unibet while Tottenham are quoted at 14/5 with Betway.

Harry Kane

The hope lies in the fact that Manchester City’s long unbeaten run has finally come to an end and their recent form isn’t great. Defeats to Leeds United and Chelsea mean that they have lost two and won four of their last six. Of course, our issues are much greater and, prior to Wednesday’s win over Southampton, the only victory in our previous five games came against Aston Villa ahead of the international break.

As we are reminded, anything can happen in a one-off final and we must retain that hope ahead of kick off.

Side Markets

Manchester City players dominate the early stages of the first goalscorer bet with Sergio Aguero the favourite at best odds of 15/4 with Betway. Gabriel Jesus is next at a top price of 19/4 with Unibet with Raheem Sterling at a best of 11/2 with Betway again.

Our first representative is Harry Kane but you will obviously need to check the team sheets to make sure he’s involved. Harry is currently quoted at best odds of 7/1 with Unibet while Son Heung-Min is next at 9/1 with Betway. Other options in a Spurs shirt include Carlos Vinicius at 10/1 with Betway, Gareth Bale at 12/1 with GentingBet, Lucas Moura at 18/1 with Betway and Erik Lamela at 20/1 with GentingBet.

Elsewhere, Both Teams to Score isn’t the worst option for this match with 888Sport quoting odds of 17/20. That would largely be down to the potential absence of Harry Kane and our perceived inability to find the target when he’s not around.

As for Total Goals, Novibet are quoting best industry odds of 22/25 to go Above the 2.5 line. We like to go higher if possible and the top price to go Over 3.5 combined goals stands at 23/10 with Unibet.

All that’s left in this section is our regular look at some correct score options and those who think we may be heading for extra time can take the 1-1 scoreline after 90 minutes at best odds of 10/1 with SportNation and RedZone. Elsewhere, a 2-1 win for Manchester City can be found at a top price of 15/2 with GentingBet while the same outcome in favour of Tottenham is available at a best of 21/1 with SportNation and RedZone.

Verdict

This might be the sort of game that you’d want to watch from behind the sofa. Normally we’d be with you but, after this strange week, there’s a sense that we really have nothing to lose here. Manchester City went through the same process with the ESL, albeit without changing their manager, and they’ve not been at their best in recent weeks.

All of this may not affect the players but, anyone who watched Chelsea’s meek display against Brighton in midweek might have drawn the conclusion that the ESL was playing on everyone’s minds. OK so we’re up against it but it is a one-off game and who knows; if we’re at our absolute best then we have a chance.

If I were a neutral, I would be interested in a draw at the end of normal time. City’s form has been shaky while there is that potential for our squad to regroup and respond under a new manager. We won’t tip that of course but there are some good prices in this market for those who feel Spurs can enjoy a productive afternoon.

We’ll start with Both Teams to Score: City have conceded in each of their last five matches and, while the price for BTTS isn’t great, it’s a solid start. Over 3.5 Goals is more reasonable at 23/10 and we don’t have to score all of those in order for it to convert. Naturally, we hope that we do get the majority of them and we’ll back Son Heung-Min to get on the scoresheet.

Sonny will be relied upon in the probable absence of Harry Kane and he’s ready to respond in our opinion. Remember, all of these bets are for the result in 90 minutes but, irrespective of whether you’re taking a punt, we remain hopeful of an upset and a great end to what’s been another difficult week.