Premier League Betting: Tottenham Hotspur v Fulham

Premier League / Dan Fitch / 26 January 2010 / Leave a Comment

Do not let this man take a penalty.

Recommended Bets: Back a Tottenham clean sheet @ 2.28; Under 2.5 goals @ 1.99; Defoe to score first @ 5.5.

Out of form Tottenham badly need a win against Fulham, with Manchester City, Liverpool and Aston Villa hot on their tails. Dan 'The Betting Man' Fitch anticipates a narrow home victory. Best bet: Tottenham clean sheet @ [2.28].

The fixtures are coming thick and fast for Champions League-chasing Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and they're failing to rise to the challenge.

Spurs lacked the guile to score against a defensive Hull and then shrunk at the opportunity to defeat a Liverpool side missing Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard.

Tottenham had a gilt-edged chance to get back to the business of winning on Saturday, when they twice held the lead over League 1 outfit Leeds, but were pegged back to a 2-2 draw.

Now Spurs will again attempt to kick-start their 2010 when they play host to Fulham. A win is absolutely vital if they want to hang onto fourth place, but how easy is that likely to prove?

Fulham haven't won a league game since beating Manchester United on December 19th. The snow-enforced disruption to the fixture list has resulted in this visit to Tottenham being their fourth successive away game. The bright news for Spurs is that Fulham have lost those previous 3 matches.

In fact, Fulham haven't won a Premier League encounter on the road since beating Portsmouth on the opening day of the season. With the likes of Zamora and Dempsey missing, they look like they might struggle to muster the firepower to shoot down Spurs.

In their absence, it's likely that Roy Hodgson will field Andy Johnson as a lone striker and pack the midfield. Fulham are also without Paul Konschesky and John Pantsil.

Spurs have Aaron Lennon, Jonathan Woodgate and Tom Huddlestone missing through injury. Benoit Assou Ekotto could be available, but his deputy Gareth Bale has been in good form. Ledley King may well be rested for the away trip to Birmingham on Saturday.

Tottenham are likely to field Defoe and Crouch up front, though Roman Pavlyuchenko scored during his cameo against Leeds. When the goalscorer markets open on Betfair closer to kick off, expect Defoe to be priced at around [5.5] to score first and [2.2] anytime, with Crouch [6.5] and [2.6], and Pavlyuchenko [7.0] and [2.9]. For Fulham, Johnson will be [10.0] and [4.0].

The sides drew 0-0 at Craven Cottage earlier this season and 4 of the last 5 games at White Hart Lane have produced under 2.5 goals. With Fulham's injuries necessitating a more defensive approach, then Spurs may again find goals hard to come by.

Without Lennon, Tottenham lack pace and are struggling to break down sides who defend in numbers, as was witnessed against Hull and Liverpool. The [1.99] available for under 2.5 goals looks like value, with over 2.5 goals also at [1.99].

Tottenham are [1.62], with the draw at [4.1] and Fulham at [6.8]. I wouldn't back Spurs at such slim odds when they have gone 3 games without a win. If you think the home side will triumph, then back Tottenham to be winning half time/full time at [2.6], as they achieved this in 8 of their 9 home wins this season. The draw/Tottenham is at [4.8].

With Spurs having kept a number of clean sheets recently and with Fulham lacking options in attack, then the [2.28] for a Tottenham clean sheet might be worth a punt, with Fulham at [6.2] to do likewise.

In the correct score market, 1-0 to Tottenham is [7.8], with 2-0 at [8.4], 2-1 at [9.2] and 0-0 at [13.5].

I expect Tottenham to get back to winning ways on Tuesday night, but it won't necessarily be pretty and they might be relieved to come away from the match with a narrow victory.