West Brom vs Tottenham

January 30, 2015
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Revived West Bromwich Albion will be hoping to build on several impressive performances and further increase their advantage over the relegation zone when they host Tottenham Hotspur. Buoyed by the League Cup semi-final win over Sheffied United, Spurs arrive at the Hawthorns looking to stay in touch with their top 4 rivals.

The Tony Pulis effect

Tony Pulis is again showing why he is widely regarded as one of Premier League’s top managers, with the instant improvement he brings to the sides when he takes over the reigns absolutely amazing. Before he arrived at the Hawthorns, the Baggies largely struggled for form and slipped into the danger zone, but they have since quickly rediscovered their form. The 7-0 FA Cup triumph over Gateshead served as a major confidence boost, with West Brom going on to defeat Hull City and share spoils with Everton in the league, before beating local rivals Birmingham City on the road in the FA Cup fourth round. The Welsh manager has done brilliantly to patch up the leaky defence, with West Brom conceding one goal in last four fixtures, while the likes of Berahino and Anichebe seem to have struck up a very good partnership up front. Even if the Baggies will have a bigger fish to fry when they host Tottenham on Saturday, they should have the extra edge over the opposition, with Spurs contesting a difficult League Cup clash against Sheffield United on Wednesday.

January recruit Callum McManaman could slot straight into the starting line-up, but Boaz Myhill and Jonas Olsson are injured and Youssouf Mulumbu and Jason Davidson are away on international duty.

Spurs through to the League Cup final

Mauricio Pochettino didn’t have such a great start to his career in North London, but he has succeeded in getting Tottenham back to the right track. Spurs still trail Manchester United and Arsenal in the race for a Premier League top 4, but they are through to the Europa League knockout stages and have now qualified for the Capital One Cup final as well. The White Hart Lane outfit suffered a real scare in the return leg against League One side Sheffield United, with quick-fire brace from youngster Che Adams threatening to send the tie into extra time, but Christian Eriksen then scored another late goal to help his team set up a final clash against Chelsea. However, seeing as most first team regulars spent full 90 minutes on the pitch at Bramall Lane, chances are Spurs will be disadvantaged when they face revived West Bromwich at the Hawthorns. With star player Harry Kane misfiring at the moment and important midfielder Nabil Bentaleb still unavailable, I seriously doubt Tottenham will be able to win this game.

Nabil Bentaleb is still on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Algeria, while Nacer Chadli may miss out again as he was given a leave of absence.

Verdict

West Brom have been thoroughly impressive ever since Tony Pulis took over and having sorted out the shaky back line while remaining dangerous up front, the Baggies look they can extend the bright run of results. Tottenham had a very difficult game just three days ago and with some important players either missing or in poor form, I cannot see them getting anything from the Hawthorns.

Top pick: West Brom not to lose   1.55 (5/9) @ 888sport

Alternative pick 1: West Brom Draw no bet   2.06 (35/33) @ Unibet

Alternative pick 2: Under 2.5 goals   1.73 (8/11) @ Betfred

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