The New Year starts with a bang in the Premier League with this London derby that sees top of the table Chelsea make the short trip across London to face seventh placed Spurs.
The last round of top flight fixtures threw up more surprises than a night with Cilla Black as the top four in the Premier League all had to settle for a share of the spoils, the Blues drawing with Saints whilst the two Manchester sides also played out stalemates, with Spurs in United’s case and at home to Burnley for the Citizens.
Jose Mourinho will be desperate for his side to get back to winning ways here but having drawn 1-1 at Southampton he will have been relieved to see chief title rivals City somehow throw away a two-goal lead at home to lowly Burnley. That result will have cost many a confident punter their hard-earned cash, but Mourinho will have been delighted as it ensured his side ended 2014 at the top of the Premier League pile.
Spurs were a little fortunate to get a draw at home to Man United, the Red Devils – and Radamel Falcao in particular – wasting several good chances to take the lead in the first half. That said, Mauricio Pochettino will have been delighted with the clean sheet, for which Hugo Lloris was largely responsible after a string of fine saves.
The bookies make the visitors clear favourites here, with Chelsea on offer at odds of just 17/20 with Ladbrokes and Spurs out at a tempting 19/5 with BetVictor. The draw can be backed at 11/4 with Bet365 and others and in a game where any of the three results seem very possible, that may appeal to some.
Whilst Chelsea have romped to victory in the last two games between the sides – both at Stamford Bridge by a combined scoreline of 7-0 – four of the previous five games ended in draws and we think a repeat of those matches is distinctly possible here.
Tottenham v Chelsea Betting Tips
- Draw – A total of 19 of the 66 league meetings between the teams at the Lane have ended in draws, including last season’s 1-1, and so odds of 11/4 look good to us.
- Correct score of 1-1 – As well as last season’s 1-1 scoreline, the games in December 2011 and December 2010 also ended that way and if you like correct score betting you could certainly do worse than take up the odds of 7/1 with BetVictor. It’s also well worth noting that the Pensioners have already drawn by that scoreline at Man City, Man United and, last time out, at Southampton this season.
- Spurs +1.5 – For an ultra-safe bet, back the home side with a 1.5 goal start on the Asian handicap. Chelsea rarely blow teams away and whilst odds of just 7/18 with Betfred may seem short, they would make a nice addition to an acca.