Vitesse v Tottenham Hotspur: Tricky Trip in Prospect?

vitesseAfter a stuttering start to the Europa Conference League campaign, Tottenham got things back on track with a 5-1 demolition of NS Mura last time out. Next up in our European adventure are SBV Vitesse who qualified for this competition after finishing fourth in the Dutch Eredivisie last season.

Thursday night’s opponents are currently in sixth place in their domestic table following a positive run of results so is this a tough away tie or should we be claiming a comfortable three points?

This is a 17:45 kick off, UK time and let’s now see what the sportsbooks make of things.

Team News

The usual options for making changes to the league XI are available to Nuno Espirito Santo but the manager seems to have a tendency to pick a strong starting line up in Europe. In terms of definite absentees, Ryan Sessegnon continues to be ruled out with a long term hamstring issue.

Elsewhere, Matt Doherty missed the win against Newcastle on Sunday but has been pencilled in for a return against Vitesse so the squad may be close to full strength.

Match Odds

This could be a tricky away tie but the bookmakers list Spurs as odds on favourites across the board. A win for Nuno’s men can be backed at best odds of 5/6 with 888Sport while the draw is the next available option at a top price of 59/20 with MansionBet. Completing the result market is a victory for Vitesse which is on offer at a best of 33/10 with Unibet.

Vitesse secured a 1-0 win away to NEC Nijmegen on Sunday in a game where a stand collapsed under the weight of their celebrating supporters. Thankfully, no injuries were reported on what was an eventful weekend for both teams.

In nine Eredivisie matches so far, Vitesse have won five, drawn one and lost three so it’s a mixed start but one that keeps them in contention for European places. It could, therefore, be a tough evening in the Netherlands and one where the neutrals might be eyeing up those 59/20 odds on the draw.

Side Markets

As we always say at this point, do be careful with individual goal scorer markets bearing in mind the potential for wholesale changes. This is possibly one of the reasons why the bookies are so slow in publishing first goalscorer odds and the prices that we have at the time of writing all come from Unibet.

As you’d expect, Harry Kane is the clear favourite and available at 13/4 while Son Heung-Min follows at 21/5. Other options from a Spurs perspective include Dane Scarlett at 23/4, Lucas Moura at 7/1, Dele Alli at 7/1, Bryan Gil at 9/1, Giovani Lo Celso at 23/2 and Tanguy Ndombele at 12/1.

Moving across to Vitesse and three players carry their shortest odds of 17/2 with Unibet to open the scoring. Oussama Darfalou, Lois Openda and Nikolai Baden Frederiksen are the men in question and we’ll take a closer look at them in the next section.

harry kane

Harry Kane

Away from those individual markets, Both Teams to Score is quoted for this match at best odds of 6/7 with 10Bet. Alternatively, you can bet ‘no’ on BTTS to claim 11/10 with BetFred.

Total Combined Goals betting is next and the best odds to go Over the 2.5 line are the 14/19 offered by 10Bet. You can push a little higher on that to claim a top price of 19/10 with Unibet for Over 3.5 while Unibet also have the best numbers for Over 4.5 goals at 23/5.

That leaves us with some Correct Score suggestions and it’s easy to see that there could be some interest in a 2-2 final outcome at best odds of 14/1 with 888Sport. Alternatively, if you’re optimistic about Spurs coming away with the points, a 3-2 away win is quoted at 20/1 with QuinnBet while the same scoreline in favour of Vitesse is on offer at 35/1 with 888Sport.

Who are they?

Those of us with longer memories will know them better as Vitesse Arnhem – a long established Dutch club who were set up back in 1892. They are now more commonly known as SBV Vitesse and they qualified for this competition as the fourth placed team in the Eredivisie last season.

Vitesse have never won the top flight division in the Netherlands: They have been runners up on five separate occasions, although the last of these came way back in 1914/15. Their biggest honour to date came in 2016/17 when the club won the KNVB Cup.

Of those three players mentioned in the first goalscorer markets, their records are all fairly modest. Danish forward Nikolai Baden Frederiksen may just be the one to watch with two goals this season including the winner at Nijmegen on Sunday.

Verdict

tottenhamRather like the Rennes match two weeks ago, this looks to be a tricky tie on paper and a share of the points wouldn’t be the worst result here. We’ve seen that form is good in the Dutch camp but the greater quality of the Premier League compared to the Eredivisie sees Tottenham start as the clear favourites.

We like to avoid tipping the result for fear of jinxing things but there could be some good prospects in the side markets. These will be familiar tips for regular readers of this column but we suspect that Both Teams to Score and the Total Goals markets are the places to be.

We’ve conceded in each of our group stage games to date and BTTS looks especially likely away from home. It’s an odds on pick but 6/7 isn’t a bad price. In regards to Total Goals, we’re comfortable with going Above the 4.5 line on the basis that we suspect Tottenham to concede.

We’d also be looking to add Lucas Moura for an anytime goal but the markets are quiet at the moment and there should be better odds for this closer to kick off. The feeling is that this should be a high scoring game and one where we should be claiming the points.

Best Bets

  • Both Teams to Score at 6/7 with 10Bet
  • Over 4.5 Goals at 23/5 with Unibet

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