English Other
2008-09-24 - Newcastle United vs Tottenham Hotspur
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Newcastle United
If there is a club in crisis at the moment then that club is Newcastle. Their season started on a high with a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford against the reigning Champions but things have gone downhill fast since that result. They sit in 19th in the Premier League with 4 goals scored and 9 conceded, their owner wants to sell the club, they have no manager and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. At St James' Park, Newcastle are 1-0-1 with 2 goals scored and 2 goals conceded.
Newcastle knocked out Coventry 2-3 after extra time in the last round of this competitions but have lost their next 3 games since that result. They have conceded 7 goals in those games while only scoring 2 themselves, and things do not look like they are going to be improving in the near future.
Obafemi Martins has rejoined the squad after his recent injury problems. However, Danny Guthrie, Joey Barton, Jonas Gutierrez, Jose Enrique, Habib Beye and Mark Viduka are all missing.
Tottenham Hotspurs
Tottenham are another team that are reaching a crossroad for their season even at this early stage of the campaign. They sit at the bottom of the Premier League at the moment and are the only team in the top flight that are still searching for their first win of the season. They have a 0-2-3 record with 4 goals scored and 7 conceded. Away from home they have a 0-1-1 record with 2 goals scored and 3 conceded.
Spurs have managed to win a game in the UEFA Cup with a 2-1 win over Wisla Krakow but this tie is far from over. Tottenham are unbeaten in their last 2 games and have only 1 defeat from their last 4 games. They have managed to keep their first clean sheet of the season in all competitions last Sunday, but will be concerned with their 5 goals from their first 6 games. This is being further highlighted by the sales of Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane.
Roman Pavlyuchenko is likely to be given a rest here so that Fraizer Campbell can start. Alan Hutton is out with an injury and Luka Modric will face a late fitness test.
Head to Head
These 2 teams have a very interesting head to head record with there being a winner in each of the last 19 games they have played and there has only been 1 draw between the sides in the last 25 games.
Newcastle have won the last 5 matches between the sides who have both strung together a number of consecutive wins over the other. Before the run Newcastle currently enjoy, Tottenham had won 4 straight.
In each of the last 5 games, the total number of goals have been at least 3 goals scored.
Prediction
I am not entirely sure I would be willing to back either of these sides with any degree of confidence as both seem to be shying away from the challenge of building their respective clubs up to be challengers in Europe.
Newcastle's record against Spurs in recent matches cannot be ignored but neither can the turmoil they are facing off the pitch.
Spurs are still a quality side and I very much expect them to get back to some form in the near future.
I am going to avoid the match betting for this game but I would be encouraged to get involved for Tottenham if I had to as they seem to have much more stability than Newcastle at the moment.
However, I will recommend this game to have some goals in it as neither of the sides are renowned for their defending. Therefore I will go for Over 2.5 goals for this game.
The Pick :
Newcastle United 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take OVER 2.5 GOALS as the bet.
