English FA CUP
2012-02-19 - Stevenage vs Tottenham Hotspur
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: FA Cup 5th Round
Sunday 19 February 2012 - Kick Off 2pm
This game is live on TV
Stevenage
Stevenage first came to the national attention when they were drawn with Newcastle United in the 1997/98 season, just a couple of years after the Magpies had just finished short in the race for the Premier League title. They were unfortunate to lose that tie on a replay, but gained revenge by beating Newcastle here last season in the FA Cup and will be looking to add an even bigger scalp in the form of Tottenham Hotspur.
The team are currently sitting in 6th place in League One and have a couple of games in hand over their rivals following their successes in the FA Cup so far this season. It does look like an automatic promotion spot is likely to be beyond them, but making a Play Off berth would be an achievement for Stevenage. They have a 6-4-3 record at home this season in the League while also recording a win over Notts County here in the 4th Round of this competition. Stevenage have also won at Hartlepool United, Stourbridge and Reading to reach this stage.
There should be plenty of confidence in the side as they have been unbeaten in their last 6 games in all competitions, winning 5 of those games. Stevenage have lost just 1 of their last 20 games in all competitions although that defeat did come here. They have won 3 of their last 4 games at home.
Chuks Aneke is ineligible for this game as Arsenal did not allow him to take part in Cup games when they loaned him to Stevenage. There are no new injury worries in the squad.
Tottenham Hotspur
Harry Redknapp is almost certain to be offered the England job and I think he will want to sign off at Tottenham Hotspur with some silverware as well as a Champions League place. They could not have asked for much more from the draw for the 5th Round of the FA Cup and must feel they have a big chance to win the competition with the exits of Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal already.
Spurs have a nice advantage in the Premier League in terms of achieving a Champions League place and will feel there is even the slight chance of still winning the League as they sit 7 points behind Manchester City. They have shown some real steel in their away games this season, going 6-3-3 in the League as well as beaten Watford at Vicarage Road in this competition. The team beat Cheltenham at home in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup.
The last time we saw this team, they were dismantling Newcastle United at White Hart Lane to extend their run to 1 defeat in 14 games in all competitions and they have won 3 of their last 4 coming into this one. However, they have won just 1 of their last 4 away games, that coming in the last Round of the FA Cup, but they have kept clean sheets in their last 2 away games.
Rafael Van der Vaart has been ruled out for this game, but that could mean that Spurs start both Emmanuel Adebayor and Louis Saha after they destroyed Newcastle last time out. Younos Kaboul is a doubt and that could see Ryan Nelson make his debut since signing from Blackburn Rovers.
Head to Head
This is the first competitive meeting between the teams.
Prediction
This will not be an easy game for Tottenham Hotspur, but I think they want to show Harry Redknapp how much he means to the club for the rest of the season and they should run out winners if they perform even close to how they did against Newcastle United when they could have picked any number of goals to win by.
Redknapp had already been picking strong teams in this competition as you can tell he does want to add some more silverware to his CV as well as to the Tottenham trophy cabinet. With the 3 other teams making up the top 4 of the Premier League already out of the competition, it is no surprise that Spurs are many peoples pick for the tournament.
Stevenage will make this tough for Spurs as they will surely be backed by a loud crowd in the anticipation of causing a surprise, but I think they will be really surprised by how much pace is in the Tottenham side and that should be the big difference between the sides.
It may be close for a while, but I think a Tottenham goal will open up the floodgates a little bit and I will back them to come through on the Asian Handicap.
The Pick :
Stevenage 1-3 Tottenham Hotspur
