My pick of the games this weekend is Tottenham’s London derby clash with Chelsea. I’ve been really impressed with Spurs of late and it just goes to show that it’s worth giving managers extra time at the start of their tenure. The knives were out for the Chelsea reject from the off, but he’s turned their season around and finally ended their dreadful run at Old Trafford.
As a statement, beating his former employers would be massive for the young manager. On the back of four straight victories it’s no surprise to hear Spurs fans talking up their season all of a sudden and the Lane will be bouncing on Saturday.
Another factor that will have Spurs fans dreaming of another scalp is Chelsea’s poor recent league record in North London. It’s been six straight visits that the Blues have failed to get a win at Spurs and I fancy that run to continue in the early kick-off.
Gareth Bale is on fire at the moment and I actually texted him during the week to say congratulations on the goal, but reminded him never to do it against my beloved Scotland. With so much attacking quality on the pitch I fancy goals in this one, but ultimately for it to finish all square. At around 15.0, the 2-2 correct score is a tempting bet.
Sunday’s highlight is the Tyne-Wear derby and this always produces fireworks – especially when Lee Cattermole is anywhere near. In the two league meetings last campaign there were no less than three red cards dished out and all of those were for Sunderland players.
It’s been a somewhat frustrating season for Martin O’Neill as they’ve only been beaten once, but have drawn too many games.
The Black Cats raise their game on Wearside and particularly when the enemy are in town, but because of postponements they have only played twice there since August in the league. O’Neill knows the importance of winning his home games and he also won’t want reminding that his side have let Newcastle get the upper hand in recent battles.
Sunderland fans must look back to the 2008/09 campaign for their last win over them. In that time the Magpies have won twice and drawn on three occasions. O’Neill will have laid down the law in training about how important it is to keep a full complement of players on the pitch. Even with XI v XI I reckon the Black Cats will have to settle for a point.
Betting on BETDAQ – Alan’s Punts:
Tottenham v Chelsea: Back the draw at 3.5 and the 2-2 correct score at 15.0
Sunderland v Newcastle: Back the draw at 3.4 and the 1-1 correct score at 7.0
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