Tim Sherwood’s time at Tottenham will be remembered more for his
“unique management style” (my quote, not anyone else’s, although even being
more than 200 miles away from White Hart Lane I can confidently guess that his
match notes include Heart
and character', 'spirit and desire' and 'endeavour and desire') than anything
else but his Tottenham side should be able to get a much needed win chalked up
on the board with victory over Fulham today.
On
face value the gap between the two teams, along with Spurs’ home advantage –
and they have come from 2-0 down to beat Southampton along with smashing
Sunderland 5-1 in their last two home games – should be enough but nothing
about the 1/2 on offer for a home win or any handicaps makes great appeal given
Spurs’ horrendous lack of defensive cohesion. In their last eight games
Tottenham have conceded 20 goals including 3 in less than half an hour at West
Brom last week. They pulled back that deficit for a hard fought draw to show
the attacking shape that that has been seen to an extent under Sherwood.
The
appointment of Felix Magath seems to have worked for Fulham with their safety
now well in their own hands following back to back wins against major rivals Aston
Villa and Norwich, and with a trip to Stoke and home games against Crystal
Palace and Hull City to come after this they have a fighting chance of staying
in the division next year. However they too have their own defensive problems –
They have just one clean sheet in 17 games with 40 goals conceded on the road –
and Spurs have scored 11 goals in their last 4. Backing them to win with both
teams to score may be the best option Danny Rose, Younes Kaboul, Kyle Naughton
and Zeki Fryers have not been the most solid combination this season – while 5
of Spurs’ last 6 games have seen four goals or more. A repeat today is 11/8
with Skybet and looks a realistic possibility.
Elsewhere
in the relegation battle Aston Villa may be put in more trouble in their
relegation battle with Southampton not ideal visitors for a side that has lost
their last 4 games on the bounce. The Saints themselves were losers to Cardiff
at St Mary’s last week but were far better than a 4-1 scoreline against
Manchester City at the Etihad indicated the week before on their last away
trip, ran rings around Tottenham before being pulled back late.
Broadly
speaking, Mauricio Pochettino’s side have generally held their form extremely
well through the season and of their 6 wins, 5 have come against sides in the
bottom half of the table. Villa won the reverse fixture but have enjoyed being
on the road far more this season with 10 losses at Villa Park and apart from
shock wins against Chelsea and Manchester City, defeats against sides from 4th
to 12th. Southampton’s finishing let them down last week but they
are still playing like a side on the verges of the top 6 and 7/5 on them
putting the recent record straight is more than fair.
Swansea
have not been as impressive, but there’s still an argument to suggest that they
are worth supporting to beat Newcastle, who have won just 3 games this year.
Pardrew’s side are a way clear of the trouble at the bottom but have been the
worst side in the league on recent performances with lamentable showings for
the last 3 weeks. Swansea are even closer to the relegation zone than their
hosts but weren’t disgraced in defeat at home to Chelsea last week when an
early red card didn’t help their chances but two of their recent away tips have
included bold shows against Everton and Arsenal and they were not without
promise in defeat at Hull the time before.
In the
tightest title race – or at least the tightest title race between more than two
clubs - Manchester City’s dropping of points in defeat against Sunderland in
midweek has opened the position wonderfully for Chelsea, who can ready
themselves for what has the feeling of a winner takes all match against
Liverpool at Anfield next week by putting Poyet’s side all but down.
Wednesday’s
resistance, having come after the worst possible start when City took an early
lead, was a spirited effort that should have ended with their survival hopes
being realistically boosted, but 6 points away from safety, their survival
hopes will be ended today with Jose Mournihio’s side not likely to suffer from
the lapse that City did.
Ahead
of a vital 4 weeks – Chelsea venture to Madrid for the first leg of their
Champions League semi final before travelling to Anfield – Chelsea come here
fresh without a midweek game and they may face a Sunderland reeling from the physical and mental punishment of their
efforts.
Jose’
Mounrihio’s side may not have excited as much as City through the season –
they’ve scored 22 less goals than Pellegrini’s men – but they represent a much
more daunting defensive prospect with just 24 goals conceded over the season
and only 9 of those infront of the own at Stamford Bridge, where they have 8
wins with clean sheets, a stat that becomes more impressive when you have to
allow for 2-1 defeats of title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City. There is a
temptation to back Chelsea to give a goal on the handicap but the prices are a
tad short and their defensive unit should feel confident of keeping Sunderland
shut-out.
Advice
1 pt Tottenham to win and both teams to score (15/8 general)
1 pt Over 3.5 goals (11/8 Skybet, 6/5 general)
1 pt Southampton (7/5 general)
1 pt Swansea (17/10 general)
2 pts Chelsea to win to nil (21/20 Bet Victor)
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