Tottenham Hotspur V Everton Betting: Sunday, 28th February (ESPN)

Tottenham Hotspur V Everton

Sunday, 28^th February – 13:00 GMT (ESPN)

Tottenham Hotspur

League Position: 4th

Recent Form: WDDLW

Tottenham could count themselves rather fortunate to have won last Sunday after some poor officiating led to Jermain Defoe opening the scoring in what was a rather dull affair at The DW between themselves and Wigan Athletic. Spurs weren’t great but Harry Redknapp couldn’t care less about the performance of his players so long as they gain all three points when they don’t play particularly well and he could deploy a similar attitude on Sunday in a fixture Tottenham will have to battle tooth-and-nail in order to get anything from it, but an ugly one goal victory would be celebrated just as intensely as a 4-0 romp would be, so roll on the scrappy affair.

Tottenham’s 3-0 victory at Wigan Athletic on Sunday lifted them above both Man City & Liverpool into fourth position, leaving Tottenham with the initiative as this battle for fourth takes another interesting twist. However, they must avoid further drama by not allowing Everton to enter into this four team top four equation by beating them on Sunday and halting the Toffees firmly in their tracks after their recent influx of points. A win for Tottenham, however, would see them end the weekend in fourth position which would give the players a huge lift heading into some very tough fixtures in the following few weeks. Were they to lose, though, it would leave Tottenham exposed to a big fall down the table as wins could be hard to come by with some difficult fixtures just over the horizon. 

White Hart Lane has always been a tough place to visit and this has been the case for most teams this season when Tottenham are on top of their game. However, Spurs do have this knack of going to sleep in a rare few home games, with their three home defeats in thirteen backing up this statement, especially when you see that two of those loses were to Wolves & Stoke City – Teams you would expect Tottenham to beat every day of the week. Another flaw in Tottenham is their inability to get themselves fired up and motivated for the big games, with their 3-0 victory at home to Man City being their only real highlight against teams in the top six. They did beat Liverpool on the opening day of the season but that was when nothing was at stake. Now, though, there is plenty on the line and we are unsure as to whether the Tottenham players will handle the pressure and rise to the occasion.

Tottenham’s best performance this season came when they smashed Man City 3-0 at White Hart Lane. They were really at it that day, with some pacey attacks complimented by some slick finishing. However, while that win was impressive, it did come at a time when Mark Hughes was on the way out of Eastlands, and so perhaps the City players had their minds on matters elsewhere. Spurs were also very impressive when they took on Aston Villa at home earlier in the month. They did only draw 0-0 but Spurs were the better side and dominated proceedings from start to finish, creating plenty of chances but failing to convert any. If they can put in a similar high-tempo display like that then Tottenham will go close to a vital victory, but if they slack off for a second, they could get punished by one of the in-form teams in the league.

Everton

League Position: 8th

Recent Form: WWLWW

David Moyes will be praying for another stunning display from his juicy Toffees’ when he takes them down to London in a match up against top four hopefuls, Tottenham Hotspur, at White Hart Lane. Everton were put to the sword when the pair last met back at Goodison Park in early December, with the Goodison side having to score two late goals just to snatch a point, but will Everton’s superb victory over Manchester United at the weekend lead them onto another big scalp, that of Tottenham on their own patch?

Everton were sensational on Saturday, and they had to be to record their biggest win of the season. It wasn’t by the biggest margin, but it was against one of the leading players in the Premier League in the reigning Premiership champions, Manchester United. David Moyes got his tactics spot on as Everton pressed United whenever they got possession, while Everton were the more pleasing of the two on the eye in the final third, with their quick one-touch passing, slick interchanging and overlapping down the flanks. They were simply too hot for United to handle and their 3-1 victory was their just rewards for a stunning effort from every single Everton player. They will, however, need to replicate their effort on Saturday, and then some, if they are to make it three stunning victories on the bounce after wins over Chelsea and now Manchester United. 

The victory over Man Utd should have given the Everton players yet a further lift in confidence as that was their second win over a so called ‘Big Four’ side this month, with Everton beating Chelsea 2-1 at Goodison Park just ten days earlier. The only negative though, and it is a big one actually, is Everton lost in their last away outing against a team not too dissimilar to that of Tottenham, losing 1-0 at Liverpool. However, because of Everton’s recent wins, picking up two impressive sets of three points, they have risen significantly up the table and are now hot on the heels of the Champions League chasers. In fact, victory over Tottenham would see Everton go within two wins of Tottenham, although Everton would remain in 8^th position for the time being.

David Moyes hasn’t given up on a European finish and their recent form would suggest the players haven’t either. They had to work tremendously hard against both Chelsea & Manchester United to get a winning result, but their A-star efforts were rewarded with two huge wins. Their last away clash with one of the top four contenders didn’t go exactly to plan, however, when Everton lost 1-0 at Liverpool. They were far from disgraced though, and if they can somehow replicate their performance from the weekend then Everton would go close to securing all three points, what would be another huge set as the Toffees continue their climb back up the table and into European contention.

Match Verdict: Draw – 3.40 Coral

The stumbling block for us is White Hart Lane; as were this fixture at Goodison then Everton would definitely get our nod of approval as their last two performances at home have been nothing short of inspirational. Not many sides in the Premiership have what it takes to not only beat Chelsea & Man Utd, on current form the best two teams in the country, but also battering them into submission as Everton were dominant in both encounters; controlling the tempo of the game and carving out more goalscoring opportunities than their more glamorous opponents in both games. However, they had some loyal supporters roaring them home on both occasions, a bonus Everton won’t have on Sunday as it will be Tottenham who boast home advantage at a stadium where Spurs haven’t lost against any of the top four contenders this season.

Tottenham were at the races in their last encounter with a top four hopeful, with that being a fixture with Aston Villa. Tottenham created plenty of chances, carving out the sort of chances most top teams would have taken, but they failed to convert their superiority into a win and dropped two big points because of this. The question is: will they pay a similar price on Sunday, or will they record their second home victory over a team from Liverpool this season? We honestly don’t know the answer but feel Everton’s form is more than worthy of a point in this eagerly awaited contest.

Match Odds:

Tottenham Hotspur – 2.00 PaddyPower

Draw – 3.40 Coral

Everton – 4.00 SkyBet

SoccerBetting Value Tip: Both Teams to Score (Yes) – 1.80 WilliamHill