ANALYST Adam Goodwin (@AGJournalism) shares his verdict on Tuesday night's Premier league tussle between Brighton and Tottenham.
Brighton v Tottenham | Tuesday 17th April 2018, 19:45 | Sky Sports
A 3-1 defeat to now Premier League champions Manchester City on Saturday evening was capped off by a pretty lacklustre performance by Tottenham at Wembley. They also look forward to an FA Cup semi-final on Saturday, but will that affect their attention as they travel to the AMEX on Tuesday night?
Tottenham
Spurs failed to have a shot on-target and second-top goalscorer Harry Kane failed to have a shot all game. Davison Sanchez, was tipped as a contender for PFA Young Player of the Season, had a torrid time against Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling, and will be hoping for an easier time this week.
Tottenham are likely to rotate as they prepare for their huge FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United on Saturday. Kane, as well as having no shots on Saturday, looked very jaded and I’ll be very surprised if he’s not rested at the AMEX.
Fernando Llorente, Victor Wanyama and Lucas Moura could all feature and whilst this isn’t a weak team, by any stretch of the imagination, they’ll miss the likes of Kane and Dembele if they’re rested.
Tottenham’s record against promoted sides under Mauricio Pochettino’s is hard to ignore. They’ve W21-D1-L0 against newly-promoted sides and you’d be brave to back against them to continue this incredible record on Tuesday.
Brighton
Brighton are now seven points clear of the relegation zone and, with only five games left of the season, you’d say they’re in a good position to avoid relegation in their debut season in the Premier League. But the Seagulls still have to the top-four in their remaining five fixtures, so any points that they can pick up at this stage of the season is vital.
Chris Hughton has dismissed any suggestions that Spurs’ attention will be solely on their FA Cup game, and has said: “Of course it's a very big game over the weekend but what you find with the top-six clubs, and those that are in most of the cup competitions, is that they are used to any rotation that they have, they are used to playing two games in a week.”
Their form at the AMEX has been decent over the last few weeks and despite losing to Leicester a couple of weeks ago, they’ve beaten West Ham, Swansea and Arsenal at home – but then again who hasn’t…
The betting angle
I wanted to get Bournemouth on-side on Saturday against Liverpool because I thought they might rest a few players, but when that backfired when I saw Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Said Mane in the starting XI.
I feel like I might have the same regrets after this game on Tuesday, but I feel like Brighton represent good value against a Tottenham side that will have the majority of their focus on the cup semi-final this weekend.
So, I’m going to back the same bet I backed for the Liverpool vs Bournemouth game on Saturday – Brighton +1.25 on the Asian Handicap. It’s a bit shorter than on Saturday at 8/11 with Unibet, but I really fancy the Seagulls to put up a good fight on Tuesday night.
Best Bets
Brighton v Tottenham – Brighton +1.25 Asian Handicap (8/11 Unibet)
