Saturday, October 15 at The Hawthorns it’s all set to go down between West Brom and Tottenham. Despite being separated by seven places in the league, both teams will know that even the slightest misstep could prove costly when the action gets underway at 15:00 local time.
As ever, the Internet’s top bookmakers are dusting off their record books, surveying the latest form and coming up with hundreds of betting markets for the match. However, before we get into the best Premier League bets this weekend, let’s first take a look at the footballing prospect in front of us.
On first inspection, this should prove to be a routine win for Tottenham. Fresh off a 2-0 whitewash of Man City, Spurs are currently enjoying a rich vein of form that’s seen them climb to second in the table. Indeed, with Son Heung-min taking everyone by surprise with his goal scoring prowess (he scored two of the best goals in September) and the backline only conceding three in seven, things are certainly looking rosy for the Lilywhites.
But, as is often the case in the Premier League, nothing is ever certain and West Brom could easily cause an upset. Listening to Captain Darren Fletcher talk ahead of the game, this is easy to believe. Pointing to his side’s impressive draw against Tottenham last season (the draw which virtually ended Spurs’ dreams of winning the league), Fletcher believes his players rise to the occasion.
Being in front of a home crowd and with a place in the top five still very much a possibility, West Brom won’t want to give anything away in this match, and that could inspire everyone to up their effort. Another positive for The Baggies is that Craig Gardner recently signed a new two-year contract.
The 29-year-old midfielder might not be a marquee name who’s capable of setting the pitch alight, but his solid frame and experience make him a valuable asset to the team. In fact, in big games against big sides, it’s often the elder statesmen like Gardener who can come on and make the difference. Whether that’s putting in some crunch tackles when the team is on a low or whether it’s a cool head when the side is protecting a narrow lead, a senior player like Gardner is also worth having in the squad.
However, if you move away from emotions and personalities, there’s one fact that could prove problematic for West Brom: goals against. Heading into the game, West Brom have conceded seven goals which, ironically, is the same number of goals Tottenham have scored away. If you believe in omens then this could be a signal that suggests West Brom will be penetrated at every opportunity. However, if you’re slightly less superstitious but still like to rely on the numbers, it does appear that West Brom’s resolve might be tested on Saturday.
Since we know that Spurs don’t seem to have a problem scoring away from home, it’s fair to say that the over on 2.5 goals at even money with Sun Bets isn’t a bad wager. If you wanted to take this idea a step further, Sky Bets’ exactly 1 goal at 7/2 or exactly 2 goals at 9/4 could be worth a shout.
If you want to move away from the specifics and be a bit more general, bet365 is currently offering 4/1 on a home win, 14/5 on a draw and 13/20 on an away win. Given what we’ve said about West Brom rising to the occasion against top teams (as they did last season), this seems like a massive price. Of course, if you wanted to hedge your bets, 13/10 on a West Brom win or draw seems like a fair price. Indeed, despite Tottenham’s propensity to score away from home this season, West Brom haven’t exactly been shy of goals either (eight in total) which may mean a 1-1 draw will be the order of the day on Saturday.
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