ENGLISH PREMIER BETTING PICK - TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR V PORTSMOUTH

English Premier

2010-03-27 - Tottenham Hotspur vs Portsmouth

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Tottenham Hotspur v Portsmouth
Football: England, Premier League
Saturday, 27th March 2010 - Kickoff 3pm

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Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur possibly had their best week of the season last week. They beat Stoke City 1-2 on Saturday to cement their 4th place position for another week and then followed that up with a win over Fulham to move into the FA Cup Semi Final. Add to that both Aston Villa and Manchester City dropped points during this same period and things are looking up for the boys from White Hart Lane.

As mentioned, Spurs are currently the holders of the 4th place and final Champions League spot in the Premier League. The 55 points they have built up gives them a 2 point advantage over Manchester City at the moment but with a tough set of fixtures to come against Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United, it is imperative they do not lose momentum now. They are 10-2-3 at White Hart Lane this season, scoring 33 goals and only conceding 10 in those matches.

They remain unbeaten in their last 8 games, and have won 6 of their last 7 in all competitions. Spurs have lost just 1 of their last 7 Premier League games, and they have won 4 in a row in the League since losing 1-0 at Wolves. It has now been 11 games at White Hart Lane in all competitions since they last lost there, Wolves once again being the bogey team for Harry Redknapp's men. They have won 3 of their last 4 at home in the League and they have only conceded 2 goals in their last 7 home League games.

Vedran Corluka joined the growing injury list at Tottenham in the win over Fulham and Sebastien Bassong is struggling with a knock too. On a brighter note, Tom Huddlestone and David Bentley both made their returns in that match with Roman Pavlyuchenko also showing no ill health. Jermain Defoe and Jermaine Jenas could both return here and Ledley King is hoping to be passed fit.

Portsmouth

Portsmouth might be all but relegated and their fight to keep performing took a big knock when losing 0-5 to Chelsea on Wednesday night. There were indications that Avram Grant would rest players for the Semi Final against the same opponents he has here so he can keep tactics and personnel under wraps.

The Pompey bells are still ringing but the side prop up the rest of the division and are 14 points from safety with only 21 more still available. They are 2-2-11 away from Fratton Park this season, scoring 8 goals and conceding 29 in those games.

They have lost 3 of their last 4 games in the Premier League and have conceded at least 2 goals in each of those games. Portsmouth have lost 6 of their last 7 games in away Premier League games and it is interesting to note that their only 2 wins in the last 13 Premier League games have been against the 2 sides directly above them, Burnley and Hull City. Recent away games has seen Portsmouth concede 4 at Anfield and 5 at Old Trafford.

Jamie O'Hara has been one of the most impressive performers for Portsmouth this season but is ineligible for this game. Aruna Dindane is out while Ricardo Rocha is a doubt after injuring his cheekbone against Chelsea.

Head to Head

Portsmouth have only won 1 of their last 10 games against Tottenham in League games.

Tottenham and Portsmouth drew 1-1 here last season, but Spurs had won their previous 5 games at White Hart Lane against them.

Prediction

Tottenham Hotspur are in fantastic form at this moment and they will very much hope to extend their lead in the 4th place with Villa travelling to Chelsea and both Liverpool and Manchester City playing later in the weekend. They do have some injury concerns, but these are also now beginning to clear up in other positions and they should feel another 3 points coming here.

Portsmouth are struggling, especially away from home, and they are conceding goals for fun at the moment. A lot of these players may already be focusing on the FA Cup Semi Final and it is hard to see them getting anything here.

I am going to back Spurs to win on the Asian Handicap here as I think they will win by 2 or 3 goals here. The other bet I will have in this match is to back Peter Crouch to score anytime although this is only recommended if he starts. David Bentley should start and if he is crossing as he did against Fulham, Crouch will get some chances against his former club.

The Pick :

BEST BETTING TIP :

Peter Crouch score anytime @ 2.1 (Bet365)- check team news to see if Crouch starts first