SPURS and Middlesbrough will square off in an FA third round replay at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday night, just nine days on from drawing 1-1 at the Riverside,
Jose Mourinho stated that his side were “in trouble”following Tottenham's tepid display on Teesside, however, the Portuguese will have identified this cup clash as the perfect opportunity to provide Spurs with a much-needed shot in the arm.
The Lilywhites are winless in their last four matches across all competitions and the capital clubs lack of killer instinct in the absence of star-striker Harry Kane was again clear to see during Saturday's 1-0 defeat at home to Liverpool.
By contrast, Middlesbrough are in the midst of six match unbeaten run and that will see Jonathan Woodgate's troops make the trip south high in confidence
Boro bagged maximum points from their four festive fixtures either side of Christmas, before deservedly earning another crack at Premier League Tottenham on Tuesday night.
The Betting Odds
Tottenham are targeting their first win of 2020 on Tuesday night and the hosts are big favourites at 1/4 (Bet 365) to set up a fourth round showdown with Southampton..
Middlebrough are massive underdogs at 12/1 (William Hill) to triumph in normal time and another all-square affair that would set up extra time and potential penalty kicks pays 11/2 (Betfred)
The Betting Angles
A Lucas Moura goal rescued Spurs at the Riverside and although a repeat of that in this replay appeals at Evens (William Hill ), I'm more attracted to the 6/5 (UniBet) on offer for Son Heung-Min to get on the scoresheet.
Son has scored 10 goals in 24 appearances this term – seven of which have come on home soil – and although the South Korean has struggled to fill Harry Kane sharp-shooting boots, I'm surprised to see the Spurs number seven at odds-against to score anytime against English Championship opposition.
Indeed, Middlebrough are on the up, however, Tottenham, even without their talisman, possess more potent attackers and having failed to score in his last five starts, a Son goal is beginning to look overdue.
However, Spurs' recent woes can be attributed to their glaring defensive deficiencies – the Londoners are leaking goals and that is reflected in their pitiful Premier League clean sheet return of two from a possible 22.
With that in mind, coupled with the fact that Boro have made the net bulge in 12 of their last 13 outings, an away goal looks attractively priced at 21/20 with SportingBet, however, I'm going to opt for an alternative angle by backing Middlesbrough frontman Ashley Fletcher to have least one shot on target at 6/5 (PaddyPower)
Fletcher has found the back of the net in four of his last six run outs – one of which came against Spurs – and the Boro lone strikers pace and physicality could again trouble a vulnerable Tottenham rearguard.
You can boost those odds up to an eye-catching 5/1 (Unibet) if you fancy Fletcher to score anytime, however, much like the recent meeting between these two in the north east, I'm not expecting a goal-laden night in north London.
Six of Tottenham's last seven matches have seen less than four goals scored and five of Middlesbrough's last seven outings has seen under 3.5 match strikes land.
The FA cup represents the Special Ones” best shot at silverware this season and although I fancy in-form Boro to keep this cup tie competitive, Spurs' superior quality should them march into the fourth round.
However, the hosts look far too short to me at 1/4 (Bet 365) and therefore I'm going to utilize Bet 365's Bet Builder feature to combine Tottenham to qualify, under 3.5 match goals and at least one Middlesbrough card, which combined comes in at nicely priced 20/21 (Bet 365)
This FA Cup match between Tottenham and Middlesbrough will be played on Jan 14, 2020 and kick off at 20:05. Check below for our tipsters best Tottenham vs Middlesbrough prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
