ENGLISH PREMIER BETTING PICK - TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR V MANCHESTER UNITED

English Premier

2008-12-13 - Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United

A Sports Betting Pick by Shady

Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United
Football: England, Premier League
Saturday, 13th December 2008 - Kickoff 17:30

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Tottenham Hotspur (15th - Home 3-1-4 7:7)

Harry Redknapp will be without captain Ledley King who is suffering from a knee injury. Alan Hutton and Giovani Dos Santos is certain to miss the game while Fraizer Campbell is ineligible for this game as he is on loan from Manchester.

Redknapp is likely to start with a 4-5-1 formation leaving Roman Pavlyuchenko up front as a lone striker. He should be supported closely by Luka Modric who will play behind the Russian striker.

David Bently and Aaron Lennon should occupy right and left flank leaving Zakora and Jenas in the heart of midfield.

In defense, with Ledley King almost certain to miss this game, Michael Dawson is set to start alongside Jonathan Woodgate accompanied by Corluka and Assou-Ekotto.

Unreliable Heurelho Gomes will start once again and his blunders might just cost the home side.

Manchester United (3rd - Away : 3-3-2 8:6)

Manchester United had a poor game in midweek against Aalborg and would like to get it off their mind as soon as possible.

They played well in segments of the game BUT the overall performance was simply poor. They just can’t seem to penetrate a weak defense like Aalborg.

Sir Alex Ferguson would have to penetrate Spurs without key player Wayne Rooney who is suspended for the game, after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season last week and Patrice Evra who is serving a four match ban.

Sir Alex would also be without Wes Brown and Hargreaves while Michael Carrick, Cristiano Ronaldo, Dimitar Berbatov and Ferdinand are all rated doubtful for the game.

If Berbatov is to recover from his minor hamstring injury, it would be interesting to see what the White Hart Lane fans thinks about him following his poor attitude and performance at the start of the season.

Carlos Tevez is certain to start this game because of Wayne Rooney’s suspension. He should partner Berbatov up front. However if Berbatov fails to recover in time, Ronaldo might be given the duty up front alongside Carlos Tevez.

In midfield, Park, Giggs, Anderson and Fletcher should partner alongside each other if Michael Carrick does not recover in time. In defense, Ferdinand and Vedic should start as usual in the heart of defense accompanied by O’Shea and Rafeal who impressed me in recent weeks. If Ferdinand does not recover in time, Jonny Evans should come in for him.

Sir Alex would deploy his regular 4-4-2 formation. With Carlos Tevez back in the side, the 4-4-2 formation looks more like a 4-5-1 formation as Carlos Tevez is an extremely hardworking player. His work rate is very good. He tracks back, closes his opponents down and would give his midfields a helping hand.

Anderson is key to this midfield as he produced some excellent passes in midweek. His passing might well be the key to opening up this Spurs defense.

Betting Statistic :

Under the asian handicap line, Spurs has lost five out of their eight home games, winning only 3 this season. The 3 wins came against Bolton, Liverpool and Blackburn under new boss Harry Redknapp.

Spurs won the Bolton and Blackburn games with an extra man advantage. The score line might have been different if both teams were having 11 players each.

On the other hand, Manchester have won four games out of their eight away games. Poor standards for a club like Manchester BUT, out of the eight away games, they have travelled to Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal.

THE VERDICT

While it's undeniable that Spurs are starting to play to their potential under Harry Redknapp, this game might be a step too far for the "Harry magic".

With Manchester United only giving -0.5 ball start, I think the visitors will do enough to cover the handicap.

The Statistics :

BEST BETTING TIP :

Take Manchester United to win