ENGLISH PREMIER BETTING PICK - STOKE CITY V TOTTENHAM

English Premier

2010-03-20 - Stoke City vs Tottenham

A Sports Betting Pick by Addicted

Stoke City V Tottenham Hotspur
Football : England : Premier League
Saturday 20th March 2010 – Kickoff 3pm

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Ryan Shawcross is back after his 3 match ban, and he ain’t changin anyfink about his game, the tough old cookie. He’s got a slight ankle problem (err yeah!) but he’s ready and raring to go give it his all again for his team. Break a leg, son. No wait….!

Stoke City

Tony Pulis’ side aim to complete a double over the north London side. City recorded a narrow 1-0 win at Spurs earlier this season and look good value to get something out of this game. The reason was this line of thought is that Stoke are actually quite hard to beat at the Brittania. Only the top 3 have really managed to come do well here. Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa are some of the big names that came up here and did well to get a point.

The problem for this side is that their current form has been poor. They’ve not won in their last 4 matches, and the last time they won at home was at the beginning of March. They are lucky to not have to face the likes of Defoe here, but Spurs have recently found their goalscoring boots, so another gritty defensive performance is needed if they are to continue their 25 year old unbeaten run against Tottenham.

Get ready for lots of long Rory Delap throw-ins and perhaps a goal to make amends for last week’s tantrum from striker Tuncay.

Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs were rocked by the news that Jermain Defoe will be out for several weeks after the striker tore his hamstring in training. With Keane up in Scotland, it will be up to Crouch and Pavlyuchenko to get the goals to solidify their 4th place standing in the league.

The defence is looking a bit shakier than I like, with King and Woodgate both unavailable. These two are the chaps you’d normally want to rely on to defend the long throw-ins and ariel attacks, but in their place will be Bassong and Dawson. I reckon a clean sheet is too much to ask of Spurs here.

Stoke are a tough physical side who have proved more than capable of troubling the best of sides. They won this fixture 2-1 last year and already have a win at White Hart Lane, so you know it’s not going to be easy for the Londoners.

Tottenham will have to rely on their speed to break up front and capitalise on their opponents lack of pace. They look good for at least a goal, in my opinion, but beyond that I’m not so sure.

The Betting Verdict :

I can see this ending in a stalemate, with both sides frustrating each other. Mike Dean is going to take charge of this game, and seeing as he’s a bit of a disciplinarian, it might be worth taking a bet on a few cards being shown.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

BEST BETTING TIP :

Take both teams to score @ 1.85 (Bet365) – Main Bet

Also consdier :
- Over 4.5 cards @ 2.10 (Bet365)
- or Pavlyuchenko to score @ 2.60 (Bet365)
- or perhaps a Correct Score 1-1 @ 6.50 (Bet365)

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