Premier League: All change for Lilywhites and Cherries

Tottenham Hotspur vs AFC Bournemouth

The Premier League season is gearing up for an intriguing final six weeks at all ends of the table and these two clubs are stuck right in the middle of that narrative.

Spurs, who began the season with such high hopes after a strong second half to the last campaign, are now looking for a new manager after the Antonio Conte era lasted less than 18 months.

Bournemouth, who began the season following an impressive promotion with the odds stacked firmly against them before quickly parting company with their boss after being on the receiving end of a 9-0 demolition, have now given themselves a glimmer of hope in their bid to beat the drop.

The hosts need all three points to try and qualify for the Champions League and the big money boon it brings.

The visitors need all three points to try and pull away further from the drop zone and stay in the cash-rich top flight instead of making an immediate return to the Championship.

Given what is at stake, perhaps its not unreasonable to expect Premier League highlights this weekend.

Talking Points

Spurs fans are generally frustrated and unhappy right now.

Their ire can center on a number of factors: the Daniel Levy effect (the under-fire owner), the need to keep hold of captain Harry Kane who has little more than a year remaining on his contract, the Conte fall-out and the clamour for a return of Mauricio Pochettino are among the topics.

At the same time as their North London rivals Arsenal lead the table and are vying for a first league title in almost two decades, it is not difficult to see why they are angry after tangible progress last term has not been built upon in recent months.

Even last weekend’s victory over Brighton was somewhat fortuitous with the visitors since receiving an apology from PGMOL chief Howard Webb to acknowledge a mistake which denied them a penalty.

If Brighton had won the game, they would now be in sixth, a point behind fifth-placed Spurs with two games in hand.

All in all then, perhaps Spurs can use that good fortune to their advantage as they eye another home game against opponents from the south coast.

Bournemouth may not be as straightforward as they seem though.

They climbed three points clear of the drop zone with a 1-0 win at Leicester City last Saturday in which they were sharper to the ball and ran out deserved winners.

The Cherries’ form on the road has been very poor, losing eight of their last nine on their travels before that, but their second clean sheet in 25 away games left the visiting supporters serenading the players with chants of ‘The reds are staying up’.

Another three points, or even a point, away from home this weekend and that belief will grow even stronger.

History

Only twice in 12 meetings have the Cherries prevailed over the North London giants.

The first time was in their very first meeting in 1957 in the FA Cup when the then Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic were 3-1 winners in a fifth round tie – this against a Spurs team that would go on to clinch a league and cup double four seasons later.

The second came in the Premier League in 2019 when Nathan Ake scored a last minute goal to seal a memorable victory for the hosts over the North Londoners who played most of the second half with nine men.

Two draws aside, Spurs have won the other eight contests, including most recently in October when they fought back from 2-0 down at the Vitality Stadium to record a 3-2 success.

That was when Ryan Sessegnon, Ben Davies and, in the final minute, Rodrigo Bentancur scored to render Kieffer Moore’s well-taken double all in vain.

The last time they met in London was in November 2019 when Spurs also won by the same scoreline, edging home with goals from Dele Alli (two) and Moussa Sissoko before a late Harry Wilson double added respectability for the south coast club.

Betting Tip

Both clubs need the points for different reasons but I do think Spurs should have enough and will play better than they did in their 2-1 win over Brighton on Easter Saturday when they were fortunate to secure all three points.

The Sbotop Premier League betting odds reflect that with the home side on offer 1X2 @ 1.44 and Asian Handicap -1.50 @ 2.28.

That compares to the Cherries who are priced 1X2 @ 6.00 and Asian Handicap +1.00 @ 2.19.

The draw @ 4.20 will earn a decent payday, as will a repeat of their meeting six months ago with Correct Score 3-2 available @ 27.00.

This time I simply cannot see past a league double for Spurs and that is reflected in my *** tip of Half Time Full Time Home Home @ 2.16.

 

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