English Premier
2012-08-25 - Tottenham Hotspur vs West Brom
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 25 August 2012 - Kick Off 3pm
Tottenham Hotspur
Andre Villa-Boas is not going to get an easy ride from the British press after his performance while manager of Chelsea and so his side cannot afford to get off to a bad start as they did a year ago in the Premier League. They were unfortunate to get off the mark in terms of points last weekend, but there were positives from their performance.
Tottenham Hotspur were beaten 2-1 at Newcastle United on Saturday to open the season, but they perhaps deserved a little more out of that game having hit the woodwork on two separate occasions. Since that game, Spurs have signed Emmanuel Adebayor on a permanent basis and he was integral to their success last season so should improve the team.
They finished with a 13-3-3 record at White Hart Lane last season, scoring 39 goals and conceding 17. However, 2 of those defeats came in their last 6 home games last season and cost them 3rd place in the Premier League and essentially their Champions League place.
Adebayor should be in the squad for this game, although may start on the bench as he has had little action in the pre-season. Scott Parker is expected back after the international break, while Younes Kaboul is a doubt and that could mean Jan Vertonghen is given his debut.
West Brom
I know a lot of the pundits believed West Brom would be certain for survival this season, but I was of the opinion that a change in management and giving the job to Steve Clarke, who has never been a Number 1 before, was a risk. While they were impressive on their opening day, I still think this will be a tough season for them and we all remember Bolton winning 0-4 at QPR on the opening day, yet they were still relegated.
West Brom hammered ten man Liverpool 3-0 last weekend in what was a very surprising result to me. However, you would have to be silly to ignore the fact that the away side created many chances throughout the match and that is an aspect that the Baggies will have to improve on.
They did finish 7-5-7 away from home last season, scoring 24 goals and conceding 30. The team only kept 2 clean sheets away from home through the entire season and after seeing the chances they gave away last weekend, that looks an area they are going to struggle to improve upon.
Graham Dorrans is set to miss this match, but Steve Clarke should have an otherwise fully fit squad to choose from.
Head to Head
Tottenham Hotspur did the double over West Brom last season and beat them 1-0 here at White Hart Lane.
Spurs are now unbeaten in their last 7 League games at home against the Baggies.
They have won 5 of those games including 3 of the last 4.
Prediction
Tottenham Hotspur are going to have some teething problems it seems in the new era of Andre Villa-Boas, but I think they showed enough in their opening day loss to Newcastle United to think they will be getting off the mark in the League sooner rather than later.
The signing of Emmanuel Adebayor will give the team a better fit for the 'one striker' tactic that Villa-Boas prefers, although he may miss this game.
I also expect Spurs will be given opportunities in this game if West Brom's defending from last week is anything to go by and I expect the pace of Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon down the flanks will give the Baggies some problems.
West Brom did exceed my expectations with their win over Liverpool, but it could have been a different story if Luis Suarez had his radar in tune and I still think they are going to have a tough season without Roy Hodgson at the helm.
They do make Tottenham work hard here at White Hart Lane recently, but I think the home side are capable of getting a more comfortable win here. West Brom are a tough team, but they did lose to 6 of the top 7 away from home last season and 4 of those losses for by a couple of goals at the least.
I'm going to take Spurs on the Asian Handicap knowing a full payout will only arrive if they win by a couple of goals at least.
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 West Brom
