TOTTENHAM welcome Brighton for Saturday's early start in the Premier League. James Cantrill (@JimmyThePunt) shares his thoughts on the fixture.
Tottenham vs Brighton | Saturday 16th April 2022, 12:30 | BT Sport
Since Antonio Conte was handed the reins at Tottenham at the start of November, only runaway leaders Manchester City and Liverpool have won more points then Spurs, who have amassed 42.
Consistency was hard to come by at first, best illustrated by the fact that the North London club had not won three games on the spin- under the tutelage of their new supremo- until mid-March.
Since their underserved 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford, Conte’s side have won four Premier League games in succession, which includes a 0-2 victory at the Amex in the reverse fixture.
Central to this rival has been the addition of Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski, both of whom made the switch from Turin to the big smoke in January.
The pair of Italian imports have started eight top flight games together, during which time Spurs have picked up 18 pts- from a possible 24- scored 24, conceded 0.9 goals per game and kept three clean sheets.
Before the duo became established starters, Conte’s side were averaging 1.70 points per game, with them they averaged 2.25 points per game.
With both players expected to feature from the off on Saturday, I want to get Spurs on side in some capacity, the current odds of around 4/7 is a touch too short though. Combining a home win with the game to feature over one goal boosts the price to 10/11 with Bet365. This bet only rules out the 1-0 home win and has clicked in all 16 wins under Conte.
Offensively, Spurs have become unhinged recently. They have put five past Newcastle, four past Aston Villa and Leeds and three past Man City and West Ham within the past two months! Since that 2-3 victory at the Etihad, they have only failed to score at least two goals on one occasion, away at Turf Moor.
Over that ten game period, their front three have bagged 64% of their 28 goals. Dejan Kulusevski has scored three and assisted six, Son Heung-Min bagged eight and assisted 3 and Harry Kane has helped himself to seven goals and six assists.
Since Conte took charge, the latter has rediscovered his form in front of goal. Prior to his arrival, in a season blighted by injury, Kane had only mustered two EPL goals and assists, under the Italian he has a combined total of 18.
Taking Spurs' clinical stint and Kane’s form into consideration, I think it is worth taking him to score; anytime at 13/12, a brace at 5/1 and a hattrick at 25/1.
Over the course of his domestic career, Kane has scored 192 goals in 328 appearances so with a goals per 90 average of 0.67, as a starting point, anything over 7/10 could be worth taking.
Over the past eight seasons, he has made 363 EPL appearances, scoring at least two or more goals in a staggering 19% of those games.
Best Bets
Tottenham vs Brighton – Spurs Win & Over 1 Match Goal (10/11 Bet365)
Tottenham vs Brighton – Harry Kane Anytime (13/12 Vbet)
Tottenham vs Brighton – Harry Kane Brace (5/1 Coral)
Tottenham vs Brighton – Harry Kane Hattrick (25/1 Coral)
