Just three match days remain for Tottenham (17-7-11, 58 Points) and Stoke City (13-8-14, 47 Points). With little to play for on either side, one might point to this being a drab, mid-table affair. However, with both sides facing a lot of change in the near future, this could be crucial for next season.
ODDS ANALYSIS
Not surprisingly, this is a very tough game to try to line from a betting standpoint. Stoke City is the slight underdog, but only by a PK +108 margin on the Asian handicap.
The three-way line features Tottenham at +145 and Stoke at +190, while the draw has kicked off the week at +245 in spite of the fact that many will believe that to be the preferred result for each side.
The total is set at a level 2.5.
KEY INJURIES
Outside of a long-term knock to Bojan, Stoke is a relatively healthy team. Marc Wilson is suspended for this match after getting a red card last week against Swansea City.
Mauricio Pochettino, who remains under fire after a largely unsuccessful season at White Hart Lane, won't have either Ben Davies or Kyle Walker in this fixture, and both could be out for the remainder of the season.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"We had the majority of the possession without really having that cutting edge in the final third. Our retention of the ball wasn't quite good enough to get people up the pitch and in the box. Our creative play was missing, and that was disappointing because I felt it was a real opportunity to get something out of the game." – Stoke City manager Mark Hughes on what lacked in a 2-0 loss at Swansea City last weekend
RECENT FORM
Stoke feels like it has more or less fallen off of a cliff at the end of the season. The Potters did well to avoid the relegation scrap, but they have only won one match since March 5. They are 1-2-4 in that stretch, and that isn't the form that Hughes was looking for at season's end.
Tottenham was beaten last week at Man City, continuing what has become known as a drab run-in. The Spurs only have one win in their last five matches, that coming against another mid-table team in Newcastle.
TALKING TOTALS
Last week's under was the third in four fixtures for the Potters. However, they haven't had less than two goals in a game in six straight, something which definitely begs to keep in mind.
A stretch of two straight overs came to a halt against Manchester City last week for the Spurs. They lost 1-0 on that day, and there just weren't enough opportunities for either team to capitalize on.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
We expect this to be a quite low scoring game to the point that if there is a goal to be had, it might be the decisive one.
We haven't heard a lot from Harry Kane of late. He's got 20 goals on the season, but just one of those has come since putting up a hat trick against Leicester City.
If Kane isn't going to come to the forefront in this one, we think there could be some real issues for the Spurs.
Stoke City might have walked away with a 2-1 win at White Hart Lane, but we can't trust it in this match either.
As a result, the best bet we could make is on an exact score of 0-0. This won't be a sexy game, but it could be a tactical one, as both sides are going to be looking for a lot of the possession without making a ton of advances forward.
Stoke City 0, Tottenham 0
BookMaker has EPL lines for every match of the season. Tottenham is lined as a +145 moneyline favorite, while the total is set at 2.5 (over -110). You can make a futures bet and predict the champion, wager on head-to-head matchups or use BookMaker’s live betting feature to gamble while the match is happening.
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The fixture between Tottenham and Stoke City is scheduled for Saturday, May 9, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. ET at Britannia Stadium. The match will be televised live on NBC Sports Live Extra.
