ENGLISH PREMIER BETTING PICK - TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR V MANCHESTER UNITED

English Premier

2009-09-12 - Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United
Football: England, Premier League 2009/2010
Saturday, 12th September 2009 - Kickoff 17:30

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Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham come into this game surprisingly ahead of their opponents in term of League position and one of only 3 remaining sides that have a 100% record in the Premier League this season.

Spurs are 4-0-0 in their games in the Premier League and they have scored 11 goals and conceded 4. They are sitting in 2nd spot in the Premier League, behind Chelsea only in terms of goal difference. Spurs have already played one of the big 4 at home this season in beating Liverpool 2-1, and have since also beaten Birmingham at home by the same scoreline after a late winner from Aaron Lennon.

Luka Modric is the big miss after fracturing his leg against Birmingham, but Niko Kranjker is in line to make his first start since signing from Portsmouth. Huerelo Gomes is unlikely to be back in goal, so Carlo Cudicini will start. Peter Crouch is another pushing for a first team spot alongside Jermain Defoe.

Manchester United

Manchester United come back from the international break hoping to keep hanging on to the coat-tails of Chelsea at the top of the table. United have won 3 of their opening 4 games in the new season without their talismanic forward Ronaldo, and Wayne Rooney looks ready to fill the Portuguese's boots.

United have a 3-0-1 record that puts them in 3rd place in the Premier League and have scored 8 goals and conceded just 2. They are 1-0-1 away from home where they have lost 1-0 to Burnley before following up with a 0-5 win over Wigan.

Injuries are beginning to clear a little bit for Sir Alex Ferguson for the upcoming schedule although John O'Shea did pick up an injury playing for Ireland. Rio Ferdinand is back in training although this game may be too soon for him and Van der Sar remains sidelined.

United had many players, including Ferdinand, Anderson, Giggs, Scholes and Owen back in Manchester training as they were not on international duty. I expect some of those to start in place of the players who have had a tough couple of games in the last week for their countries.

Head to Head

It has now been 16 Premier League matches since Tottenham last beat Manchester United, including blowing a 2 goal lead at Old Trafford at the back end of last season.

There have been 8 matches at White Hart Lane since a home win was last recorded. United have won 6 of those 8 matches, but have actually drawn on their last 2 visits to this part of North London.

The corresponding fixture ended 0-0 between the sides last season.

Prediction

Tottenham come into this game with a lot of confidence, but will miss the influence of Luka Modric. They have looked good when going forward, but are still a bit suspect at the back and this will be a problem that Harry Redknapp needs to eradicate.

Manchester United dont seem to have figured out their strongest line-up at the moment and a lot of changes are being made by the manager. They have bounced back from their defeat against Burnley to record 2 victories but this is going to be a tough ask in a week that includes a Champions League tie away from home and ends with the Manchester Derby.

I am a Manchester United fan, but I have had a feeling all season that White Hart Lane will be a tough venue to come away from with maximum points and will be happy with any positive result before the game with City next weekend.

Tottenham have been playing very well and have a striker in form with Defoe, but I dont think they can keep out United for 90 minutes. I think it will be a draw but will pick a safe option of Tottenham at around 1.72 with 0.5 headstart on the Asian Handicaps.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

BEST BETTING TIP :

If you lay Manchester United at the exchanges, I believe it equates to about 1.7 after commission.