Tottenham Hotspur v Blackburn Rovers
Football: England, Premier League 2009/2010
Saturday, 13th March 2010 - Kickoff 12:45pm

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Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur are making a real go at moving into the top 4 this season, and with Liverpool's failure at Wigan during the week, they have a real chance although they will still have to see off Manchester City as well as Liverpool and Aston Villa. Injuries are affecting this side at just the wrong side, especially in midfield, which is making things harder for Harry Redknapp.

Spurs are holding 4th spot in the Premier League thanks to a better goal difference from Manchester City, but they do have a tough set of games to end the season with matches against the top 3 to come. They are 9-2-3 at White Hart Lane this season, scoring 30 goals and conceding only 9. Only Manchester United and Birmingham City have conceded less goals at home this season.

They have only lost 1 of their last 11 games in all competitions, and they are unbeaten in their last 5 games. Spurs remain unbeaten at home in their last 9 games at White Hart Lane since the surprise 0-1 loss to Wolves here. They have played 6 Premier League games at home since that loss and have only conceded 1 goal in those games.

Aaron Lennon remains sidelined and is joined by Tom Huddlestone and Jermaine Jenas. David Bentley should return to the squad as well as Jermain Defoe.

Blackburn Rovers

Recent results have seen Blackburn Rovers move up the table and away from the relegation zone and they now have a 10 point gap to those sides. Big Sam Allardyce is unlikely to allow his side to lose any momentum they have picked up and will want to secure Premier League football as soon as possible.

Blackburn sit in 13th in the Premier League table but they have gained much of their points at Ewood Park, going 1-3-10 away from home turf. A bigger concern for Rovers will be the 9 goals scored in those games while conceding 33, leaving them with the 17th best away goals scored record. The 10 away losses have only been surpassed by Burnley and Hull City this season.

They have lost just 2 of their last 7 games in the Premier League but their move up the table was aided with their 4 home wins in that stretch of games. Blackburn are without a win in their last 10 away games in all competitions and they have lost 3 of their last 4 away games in the Premier League. Rovers have scored 1 goal in their last 3 away games.

Ryan Nelson is still missing in the Blackburn defence but there are no other injury concerns at this time.

Head to Head

Tottenham beat Blackburn here 1-0 last season, their first win over Blackburn at White Hart Lane since March 2006.

Blackburn have only won 1 of their last 6 games at White Hart Lane.

Prediction

Tottenham have been playing well at White Hart Lane although they have had some bad results there this season. They have a very strong forward line, and while they are missing Lennon, they have got a new productivity from Roman Pavlyuchenko. This is one of those games that they will need to win if they have real aspirations in finishing in the top 4 this season. The defence has been strong at home, with 1 goal being good enough to win games at the moment.

Blackburn have found their form at home to move away from the bottom of the table but they are still struggling away from home, especially with their defence struggling to stop goals away from Ewood Park. Sam Allardyce is sure to have his side motivated to gain the points to survive as soon as possible.

This is going to be tough for Blackburn who are likely going to need a couple of goals to counter their own deficiencies in defence. I can see Tottenham keeping another clean sheet here and will therefore pick them to win to nil as my bet.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Blackburn Rovers

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take Tottenham Hotspur to WIN

Or take Tottenham Hotspur win to Nil @ 2.25 (Paddy Power) (my bet)