Spurs to power on at the Lane

4Apr 2013

England - Premier League

There are some vital match ups in the Premier League this weekend and Paul Robinson is looking to build on the 4.75pt profit that he showed last week. Here are his selections:

Tottenham v Everton - Live on ESPN at 14:05

Back Tottenham @ 1.95 (19/20)

Back Draw/Tottenham in the HT/FT Market @ 4.75 (15/4)

Spurs take on Everton this Sunday and I think Tottenham are overpriced to grab the win and kill off any remaining hope Everton had of qualifying for the Champions League.

I was mightily impressed with Spurs last Saturday as they were excellent in their 2-1 victory at Swansea - a scoreline I tipped - and while they were hanging on a touch in the final stages, it was a job well done by Andre Villas Boas' men.

Brad Friedel was back in goal at the Liberty as Hugo Lloris had suffered a knee injury but the Frenchman is back in training and he has been excellent since arriving from Lyon. The French number one not only makes fantastic saves, he is very quick off his line - something which is vital under AVB's defensive tactics.

It was Spurs' first win in three in the league and it will fill them with confidence after memories of last year's collapse had started to rear their ugly head. Jermain Defoe will be missing for this one but Emmanuel Adebayor leads the line well enough and while he hasn't been finding the net too often this year, he holds the ball up superbly and links the play with Lennon and Bale.

Everton managed to overcome Stoke at Goodison by a goal to nil but they were far from convincing in the absence of Steven Pienaar and Marouane Fellaini. Those two are still suspended for the clash at White Hart Lane and it will be interesting to see if David Moyes plays the 5-3-2 formation that he introduced for the visit of Stoke.

The Toffees have lost their last two in the league away from home and they haven't recorded a victory since the start of January. They have made an excellent effort at challenging the top four but failure to strengthen in January has cost them dear as injuries and suspensions have begun to mount up.

I can see Everton holding firm till half time as they are a resilient bunch but Spurs should have more than enough to overpower them as legs begin to tire. As well as backing a home win at 1.95 (19/20) I think 4.75 (15/4) about Draw/Spurs in the HT/FT market is worthy of a punt.

Newcastle v Fulham

Back Newcastle @ 2.1 (11/10)

Back Under 2.5 goals @ 2.0 (1/1)

Next on the agenda this Sunday is Newcastle against Fulham at St James' Park. The Geordies have landed themselves in a bit of a relegation scrap but I can see them edging past Fulham on home soil.

Newcastle have dropped to 15th place after three defeats in four and they now find themselves just three points clear of Aston Villa who occupy the final relegation spot. In fairness to Alan Pardew, those three losses all came on the road and his team have actually won their last three league games in a row in front of their own fans.

They have also been blighted by injuries, especially to the back four, and have missed the creativity of Hatam Ben Arfa at the opposite end. It's an old cliché but I genuinely believe that Newcastle are too good to go down and despite having to face Benfica in Portugal on Thursday, the Magpies have proved that they can pick up good results after a Europa League game.

Fulham are undefeated in five in the league and that little run has pushed them up to 10th place. Before the international break they won at Spurs but Tottenham played poorly that day and Newcastle will be much more of a test.

Martin Jol's side beat QPR 3-2 in a pulsating game at Craven Cottage on Monday but they were gifted three first half goals by Rangers and were hanging on for most of the second half. Dimitar Berbatov is in fine form - six goals in as many matches - but he has flattered to deceive before and Fulham don't have many other goal scorers in their squad.

I expect this to be a tense, hard fought affair that Newcastle ultimately prevail in. The home victory at odds-against looks like a good bet, as does under 2.5 goals at even money.

QPR v Wigan - Live on Sky Sports One at 16:10

Back QPR @ 2.37 (11/8)

Back QPR to win 3-2 @ 26.0 (25/1)

We finish with another Sunday match up, as QPR host Wigan in a relegation humdinger. It's the ultimate six pointer and I'm backing Harry Redknapp to produce one more rabbit from his hat to keep his side's survival hopes alive.

It's win or bust for QPR now as the defeat to Fulham has left them seven points adrift of safety with only seven games remaining. Victory over Wigan would reduce that gap to four points and despite The Latics having a game in hand, it would give them hope of surviving.

After back to back victories for Rangers they fell to a deflating defeat at Villa Park and then followed that up with the 3-2 loss at Fulham. The defence have started to ship goals again and Christopher Samba hasn't looked like the player he was at Blackburn. They're back on home soil for this one though and the Loftus Road faithful will surely produce a cracking atmosphere to aid their players.

Wigan have started the great escape once again and while I was still a touch sceptical before last week, the 1-0 win over Norwich had me eating my words. I'm going against them again though as I think the price on QPR is too good to refuse.

Roberto Martinez's side have tightened up at the back with two clean sheets from four in the league but they did ship four to Liverpool and Newcastle should really have scored more than one when they went to the DW.

Arouna Kone is in fine form and while he should have some joy against the QPR defence, I think the likes of Loic Remy will have an even more fruitful time against the Wigan one. As well as recommending a back of QPR at 2.37 (11/8) I think backing a 3-2 correct score at 26.0 (25/1) could be worth a speculative investment as QPR especially have to go for it.

Recommended Bets

Back Tottenham @ 1.95 (19/20)

Back Draw/Tottenham in the HT/FT Market @ 4.75 (15/4)

Back Newcastle @ 2.1 (11/10)

Back Under 2.5 goals in Newcastle v Fulham @ 2.0 (1/1)

Back QPR @ 2.37 (11/8)

Back QPR to win 3-2 @ 26.0 (25/1)

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