English FA CUP
2012-03-07 - Tottenham Hotspur vs Stevenage
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: FA Cup 5th Round Replay
Wednesday 7 March 2012 - Kick Off 7:30pm
This game is live on TV
Tottenham Hotspur
There were some out there that may have been concerned that the Tottenham Hotspur players were under-performing as the rumours continue to swirl that Harry Redknapp will take over as England manager this year. However, the performance against Manchester United would have at least inspired confidence despite the defeat.
Now the fear is that Tottenham will lose their spot in 3rd in the Premier League if they do not bounce back to form sooner rather than later. Spurs will look to recover some momentum they have lost in the last couple of weeks by earning their place in the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup, a competition that Redknapp wants to win.
Back to back defeats to Arsenal and Manchester United in the League and that has now seen them win just 1 of their last 5 games in all competitions. Being back home at White Hart Lane will at least give them the confidence to bounce back from their defeat to United last time out, with Spurs winning 7 of their previous 9 at home in all competitions before that defeat on Sunday.
Scott Parker has returned from suspension and Gareth Bale has recovered from his illness as Harry Redknapp has promised to play a strong team in this game. William Gallas may be back, but Ledley King will be rested with his knee issues.
Stevenage
Stevenage have already spoken about how much this replay will mean to their long-term future in terms of the monetary reward they will receive, but they will still be hoping to spring a big surprise by knocking out one of the favourites for the Cup.
The problem for Stevenage is that they are not going to be a surprise for Tottenham this time and they may have missed their best chance of an upset a couple of weeks ago when they met Spurs at home. The team remain in the hunt for a potential Play Off spot in League One, that being the most important priority for them this season, but this will still be an enjoyable experience for the players involved.
Stevenage's 0-0 draw with Spurs was the first of a bit of a downturn in form for the side as they have now failed to win any of their last 5 games in all competitions after a run of 5 wins from 6 games. They have only won 1 of their last 5 games away from home, while they have lost 2 of their last 3 coming into this one.
Head to Head
This will be the first meeting between the teams at White Hart Lane.
Prediction
The fact that Harry Redknapp has openly admitted that he wants to win this competition is a good sign for those backing Tottenham Hotspur outright and also for those, like me, that want to back Spurs to win this game with a little room to spare.
Spurs are going to bring back some of the big guns that were missing against Manchester United at the weekend, and the likes of Gareth Bale and Scott Parker will make a difference to their starting XI. They could easily have got a result against United on another day, and I think they are going to have a little too much going forward for Stevenage in this game.
With a strong team likely to take the field, I think Spurs are going to have a good time here at White Hart Lane and pick up some momentum that has been lost from their last two games. I will back them to overcome the Asian Handicap and march through to the Quarter Finals.
The Pick :
Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 Stevenage
BEST BETTING TIP :
I'll back Tottenham Hotspur - 1.75 Asian Handicap @ 1.81 (Pinnacle)
