Spurs vs Chelsea betting preview

Spurs Form: WDWWW

Tottenham didn’t get a win from their first three games in the premier league but since then they have really stepped up a gear. The new signings are beginning to gel and the old ones are learning the methods of their new manager. Andre Villas Boas will be pretty content with his team sitting fifth in the Premier League and with four victories from their last four games he will be hoping that the good form will continue, pushing the team even higher up the league and into a Champions League place. Their last match was a comfortable 2-0 victory over a lacklustre Aston Villa side who are already looking like being in or around the relegation zone come the end of the season. Far more impressively, in the previous game they overcame Manchester United at Old Trafford, winning 3-2. Choose a free bet offer for this match here.

This Tottenham team has quality all across the forward line but Gareth Bale will play a major role in the outcome of this game. He has been in the headlines recently for both the right reasons (a double for Wales in a 2-1 win over Scotland) and the wrong reasons (a pitiful dive against Villa last weekend) and will look to use his pace to attack Branislav Ivanovic.

Watching Tottenham this season has been fairly entertaining this season with the majority of goalmouth action coming in the second half of games. All of the second halves have gone over the 1.5 goal mark whereas only one of the first halves has seen more than the solitary goal. This is reflected in Spurs’ own scoring habits since they have scored 10 of their 13 goals in the second forty five minutes. Having managed to score at least two goals on the previous four occasions, Spurs will be confident that they can score again but will have to remain wary of the league leaders attacking force.

Chelsea Form: WWWWW

Chelsea have been in brilliant form this season and currently sit in first place in the league with 19 points. Winning six out of seven league games this season and drawing the other, they are four points clear of the two Manchester clubs who are joint second. The Blues’ last league game was a 4-1 win over Norwich and they also scored four in the previous game, away at Nordsjalland in the Champions League. Chelsea will come to White Hart Lane full of confidence and will feel that they can beat anyone at the moment. After an easy run of fixtures over the first few weeks of the season, Chelsea faced Tottneham’s North London rivals Arsenal, winning 2-1. This was a big result and helped maintain their position as league leaders.

Chelsea’s attack is a frightening prospect for any defence. Top goal scorer Fernando Torres will lead the line with Oscar, Mata and Hazard are likely to line up behind him. The movement of these players and their clever short passing will be hard for Spurs to contain and it seems likely that Chelsea will find the net at least once. Di Matteo will want his team to remain tight at the back but keeping out the likes of Bale and Defoe will be a challenging prospect. Ivanovic has managed to score three goals this season and provides much of the width down the right hand side. However, Chelsea may not be able to find much joy down this side with Gareth Bale likely to be pinning the right back back in his own half for much of the game.

Lampard and Bertrand missed the England games through injury and illness respectively and will be doubts for the weekend clash. Should they not be fit in time, Chelsea will still feel like they have enough about them to get the job done. In terms of goals scored, the first halves have been more fruitful with five out of seven seeing over 1.5 goals compared to just one second half. Impressively, Chelsea are yet to concede in the second half of their Premier League games this season and will look to take the lead and then control the game from there.

Betting Analysis

Andre Villas Boas will return to the club he managed at the start of last season. After AVB’s sacking, his assistant, Roberto Di Matteo, took charge and after revitalising their fortunes last season, he has become the permanent manager. AVB would love to get one over his previous employers and the stats suggest that it will be a reasonably close game, perhaps resulting in a draw or a narrow Chelsea win.

The game looks likely to go over 2.5 goals and both teams will fancy their chances of scoring. For Chelsea, the main man will be Fernando Torres and betting on him to score first and Chelsea to win may provide a tidy return. If Tottenham are to score, it seems likely that it will either be created, or scored, through Gareth Bale. Having analysed the recent form, a 2-1 win for Chelsea seems probable with Chelsea scoring in the first half and Tottenham in the second.

Highlighted bets

Tores to score first and Chelsea to win, 8/1 with Bet365

Bale anytime assist, 10/3 with Boyle Sports

Chelsea to win 2-1, 10/1 with Betfred

Ivanovic to be shown a card, 6/4 with SkyBet

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Article by Ryan Moore

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