Europa League
2012-11-08 - Tottenham Hotspur vs Maribor
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: European Europa League
Thursday 8 November 2012 - Kick Off 8:05pm
This game is live on TV
Tottenham Hotspur
If you read anything in the papers and on the internet, or listen to any number of radio phone-ins, you will note that Tottenham Hotspur fans are not very happy at the moment. The pressure on Andre Villas-Boas just shows no signs of dissipating despite some positive results and I don't think another failure will go down too well, especially not at White Hart Lane.
I have absolutely no doubt that Villas-Boas is taking this competition seriously after leading Porto to success in the Europa League back in 2011, but the results haven't followed the strong team selections. Spurs are currently 3rd in the Group after drawing 3 consecutive games, although 2 of their final 3 games are played at White Hart Lane where they were unfortunate not to beat Lazio.
However, having 2 games left at home is no guarantee that Spurs will win them as they have now lost back to back games here and have won just 2 of their 7 home games in all competitions this season. The side have also won just 2 of their last 7 home games in the Europa League.
Moussa Dembele and Sandro are both absent and will join the likes of Scott Parker, Younes Kaboul and Benoit Assou-Ekotto on the sidelines. William Gallas did suffer an injury against Wigan Athletic last weekend, but is expected to take his place in the squad.
Maribor
Maribor are the reigning Champions of Slovenia and they are leading their domestic League by 3 points with a couple of games in hand over their nearest rivals. The Champions League proved a step too far for them as they failed to get through the last qualifying round, but their early performances in this competition sets them up with a chance to get through to the last 32.
The side are currently 2nd in the Group and they hold a 1 point lead over Tottenham in 3rd place after beating Panathinaikos and losing to Lazio before drawing with Spurs in their last home game. A win for Maribor in North London will put them in a very strong position to get through the Group, but 2 of their last 3 games are on their travels where Maribor have struggled in Europe.
They were beaten in Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League qualifier that eventually saw Maribor knocked out of that competition and enter this one. Maribor have lost 4 straight away games in the Europa League including a 1-0 loss at Birmingham City last season and they have failed to win any of 6 away games in this competition, losing 5 of those games.
Head to Head
The 1-1 draw played out by these sides a couple of weeks ago was the first competitive meeting between Maribor and Tottenham Hotspur.
Prediction
Tottenham Hotspur do have a big game at Manchester City this weekend, but it hasn't stopped Andre Villas-Boas playing strong teams in this competition earlier on and I doubt he changes his philosophy now. The manager knows the fans are getting a little tetchy and he will want his side to pick up momentum from this game.
Spurs are unfortunate not to have more points on the board and they have really struggled for consistency at White Hart Lane, but Maribor look a decent hand-picked team for them to get moving in the right direction again.
Back to back home losses is certainly a concern, but Spurs were unlucky against Lazio and things will surely turn for them sooner rather than later.
I don't want to under-estimate Maribor, but they have struggled when going away from home in European competitions and that makes me believe Spurs can win this with a little room to spare.
The Pick :
Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Maribor
BEST BETTING TIP :
I'll back Tottenham Hotspur - 1.5 Asian Handicap @ 1.92
