Champions League
2010-11-24 - Tottenham Hotspur vs Werder Bremen
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : European Champions League
Wednesday 24 November 2010 - Kickoff 7:45pm
This game is live on TV
Tottenham Hotspur (1st, 7 Points)
No need to pinch yourselves Tottenham fans, its not a dream... Tottenham are 1 win away from guaranteeing their place in the last 16 at the top table in European football! Spurs have really set a marker out during their 2 performances against Inter Milan and currently lead the Group thanks to their head to head record with the Italians.
Harry Redknapp believes his side are more than capable of sustaining a Premier League title challenge this season after seeing Spurs come from 2-0 down to gain an important 2-3 win at Arsenal, the first time they had won away against the Big 4 teams in 68 games. Spurs are 3-3-1 at home this season, scoring 11 goals and conceding 7 and they have won all 3 European games here, scoring at least 3 goals in each game.
The win over Arsenal means Spurs have recorded back to back wins in a season full of inconsistencies. A worrying issue for the manager will be the fact his side have conceded at least 2 goals in 3 of their last 4 games. Spurs are unbeaten in 8 games at White Hart Lane, and they have won 4 of their last 6 there.
It is possible that Jermaine Defoe is given a start after his introduction from the bench on Saturday seemed to inspire Tottenham. William Gallas seemed to be struggling at full time, but he will be given all the time he needs to recover. Tom Huddlestone and Michael Dawson are both out. Both Gareth Bale and Rafael Van der Vaart are struggling with knocks but I would be surprised if neither starts.
Werder Bremen (4th, 2 Points)
While Tottenham could clinch their place in the last 16 with a win, Werder Bremen will be aware that they need to gain the 3 points themselves if they are to have any hope of playing in Europe in the New Year let alone qualifying for the last 16. Defeats at home to Twente and at Inter Milan has put the German side in an unenviable position.
It is not just in Europe that Bremen have been having a hard time. They are 12th in the Bundesliga, only 4 points better off than those in the relegation positions. Away from home they have a 1-2-4 record, scoring 8 goals but conceding an astonishing 21, an average of 3 per game.
Werder Bremen are also struggling for form, losing 5 of their last 6 games and they have failed to score a goal in their last 4. The problem for Bremen has also been in protecting their own goal, losing their last 2 away games by a 10-0 aggregate. Worryingly for the Germans, they have conceded 4 or more goals in half of their last 8 away games in all competitions.
Thomas Schaaf, the manager, had apparently handed in his resignation before this game after their recent run but this has been denied. He has a number of injury concerns. Mikael Silvestre, Marko Arnautovic are all out while they have a number of others on the treatment table including Claudi Pizzaro and Tim Borowski. Torsten Frings is out through suspension.
Head to Head
These two sides played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in Germany on Match Day 1, but I am sure Werder will not want to find themselves 2 goals down again this time.
Prediction
My prediction is going to be fairly short for this game. Tottenham should be on a high after their North London Derby victory on Saturday and the side can clearly score goals. This has included the Champions League where they have scored 12 goals in their 4 games so far.
Werder Bremen are struggling and their manager has allegedly offered his resignation. To make matters more difficult, Bremen will be missing a number of first team players and generally do not travel that well in European competition, losing heavily in Italy on 2 occasions this season.
It just seems Tottenham are in the ascendency and I fear for Werder if they concede early. Spurs to win for me and go through to the last 16 with a game to spare.
I will take Tottenham to clear the handicap.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 Werder Bremen
BEST BETTING TIP :
I'll take Tottenham Hotspur -1.5 Asian Handicap
