Tottenham vs Stoke

March 20, 2012
By: John Hansen

Tottenham players are still affected by what happened in their FA Cup clash with Bolton, but Harry Redknapp claims his side are ready to face Stoke and hopefully kick-start their Premier League campaign. Stoke were beaten by Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals, and they are now in for a difficult task at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham in problems

Just few weeks ago Tottenham were effectively in the Premiership title race and well clear of their top 4 rivals, but Spurs are now in a position to fear for their Champions League berth. Harry Redknapp’s side did damage their Champions League chances with three straight defeats, but while Tottenham deserved to lose to Arsenal, they were very unfortunate not to get anything from the Manchester United and Everton games. Spurs were the dominant side in both games, but ended up on the receiving end after missing a host of clear-cut chances. The game against tired Stoke will be a perfect opportunity for Tottenham to return to winning ways and kick-start their league campaign, so we can expect the hosts to give their best in this clash. Everybody at the club were delighted to hear that Fabrice Muamba is feeling better after collapsing in midweek’s match at White Hart Lane and that news should help the players fully focus on the Stoke match, at least for 90 minutes.

Michael Dawson, Tom Huddlestone and Aaron Lennon remain sidelined, but Rafael van der Vaart is set for a starting role.

Tough times for Stoke

Stoke have been absolutely brilliant in the first part of the season as they somehow managed to balance between their Premier League, Europa League and FA Cup campaigns, but the huge number of games is starting to catch up with the Potters, who are now struggling to rediscover their form. Playing in three major competitions was always going to be a problem for Tony Pulis’ side as they hadn’t had a big squad to begin with and 46 games into the season, it is hardly surprising that the Potters can no longer keep their performances at a high level. Stoke City are still a force to be reckoned with at their Britannia Stadium, but after losing five of their last six away games, beating only minnows Crawley Town in the process, they cannot be expected to stop Tottenham from winning this game.

Ricardo Fuller misses out through suspension, while Mamady Sidibe remains sidelined through injury.

Verdict

Tottenham are playing much better than the results are showing and it is high time they recorded a comfortable Premier League victory. Stoke City are finding it hard to cope with the busy schedule and their awful away form don’t give them much to hope for before the trip to White Hart Lane.

Our prediction: Tottenham with -1.5 Asian handicap

Odds: 2.35 (27/20)

Bookmaker: 188BET

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