Tottenham Hotspur vs AFC Bournemouth
English Premier League. Kick-off: 3pm, Wednesday 26th December.
TOTTENHAM are no longer flying under the radar in the title race after Sunday's 6-2 hammering of Everton forced many pundits to admit they are right in the hunt alongside Liverpool and Manchester City.
It was arguably the most complete display of the season from Spurs and the match highlighted just how many scoring threats they possess, with Harry Kane, Son Heung Min, Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli all on target.
Some of them will probably be rested for the visit of Bournemouth, with boss Mauricio Pochettino admitting he will use his full squad during the hectic festive period.
But he has enough quality in reserve to get past a Cherries side who can't boast the same strength in depth and have lost seven of their last eight meetings with Tottenham. The likes of Fernando Llorente, Lucas Moura and Erik Lamela could land starts for this one and all three could be worth a punt in the scorers markets.
Argentine Lamela is the best price, at 15/2 to break the deadlock and 23/10 for anytime scorer, but Moura has a better scoring record this season. So try backing the Brazilian at either 21/4 to score first or 31/20 to net at any time in the 90 minutes.
Llorente is 18/5 and 49/50 with 888 Sport in the same markets if he gets the nod to start ahead of Kane, who is the 11/5 and 1/2 favourite respectively.
There's not much value to be had on a Spurs win, which is 8/25 with 888 Sport who rate Bournemouth as 17/4 outsiders with the draw 23/5.
But when Pochettino last made a lot of changes, Tottenham just scraped a 1-0 win over Burnley as Eriksen came off the bench to hit a late winner. That suggests it may be close again so under 2.5 match goals may be worth a few quid at 7/4 with 888 Sport.
Bournemouth could also be a good option in the three-way handicap market where they are 5/6 with a 2-0 start at 888 Sport.
Recommended bets
- Lucas Moura anytime scorer 31/20 (888 Sport)
- Under 2.5 goals 7/4 (888 Sport)
- Bournemouth with a 2-0 start 5/6 (888 Sport)
I'm a sports journalist, football tipster and author from Dundee, who is now working in Glasgow. I've covered games at every level, from Junior football to internationals, and still love football even though it has clearly sold its soul. I've been in football tipping since 2018 with the MFT site.
Hi Kevin. Merry Christmas. Can you explain meaning of 3 way handicap? Thanks
Sorry for the incredibly late reply, I just spotted your comment tonight. Been very busy over the festive period. My understanding of the phrase is that you can also still win with a draw. For example if you back a team at minus two goals you would win if it was 2-0 or 3-0.
If you take a team -2 they need to win by 3 or more unless you take lower odds with -2 Asian Handicap. In that case -2AH returns the stake if it’s a two-goal win.