PREMIER LEAGUE analyst Daniel McCulloch (@DMcCulloch1984) takes a look Wednesday night's encounter between Tottenham and Crystal Palace at the brand New White Hart Lane stadium.
Tottenham v Crystal Palace | Wednesday 3rd April 2019, 19:45
Tottenham fans will be hoping that a new stadium represents the start of a new era for the North London club, but also – in the short-term – signals the end of a wretched run of results.
Just a couple of months ago, Spurs looked like live outsiders for the Premier League title but after managing just one point from their last five games, they now find themselves in the Champions League places on goal difference alone.
Visitors Crystal Palace will be a tough challenge, with the Eagles already recording a victory away to Manchester City, a draw at Old Trafford and scoring three times in a single-goal defeat at Anfield.
The South London club have a better away record (20 points from 15 games) than they do at home (16 from 16) and with the likes of Wilfired Zaha, Andros Townsend and Michy Batshuayi among their ranks, its easy to see why they cause so much trouble to opposition defences on their travels.
In recent weeks Palace have scored four times in victory at Leicester, and three times when beating Burnley and given that they’ve already knocked Spurs out of the FA Cup this season, I don’t believe that a trip to the new Tottenham Hostpur Stadium will fill them with dread.
Initially, I fancied Tottenham to win by a single goal but further analysis suggests that backing them to win 1-0 represents a better bet. Since the start of last season the home side have won nine home matches by a single goal and seven of these were 1-0. Moreover, the last five league games between these two have finished by this scoreline.
A nervy game settled by a late Harry Kane winner is a narrative I think many would comprehend and the 15/2 BetVictor offer on 1-0 home victory is excellent value in my view. Given that four of Crystal Palace’s seven away defeats this term have been by a single goal, I will also take the 5/2 with Bet365 on a single goal victory for Mauricio Pochettino’s men.
Best Bets
Tottenham v Crystal Palace – Tottenham to win by a single goal (5/2 Bet365)
Tottenham v Crystal Palace – Tottenham 1-0 Crystal Palace (15/2 BetVictor)
