Betting tips / Joe Dyer / 18 January 2012 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market

Sure, the Spurs are the underdogs and coming off a loss when they meet Man City this weekend, but Joe Dyer has found a few reasons to bet on an upset...

It's now or never
Saturday's 1-1 draw at home to Wolves was tough for the Spurs faithful, but add in wins for the two Manchester clubs and it became a really bitter pill to swallow. The Lilywhites now trail the leaders by five points and defeat at the Etihad would be as painful as steel-toed boot in a very delicate place to the north Londoners' title hopes. The stakes are higher for Tottenham than City; can they make the extra motivation count?

Personnel
Yes, City kept a rare clean sheet at Wigan on Monday night, but Stefan Savic has looked unconvincing and Vincent Kompany's absence will be felt against the better teams. A better guide to this clash is Liverpool's Carling Cup visit the week before, which was City's second consecutive defeat at the time. Monday night's scrappy 1-0 win at Wigan - winners of one Premier League match at the DW Stadium this season - was an average result and nothing more. In fact, though all three league points are the same, a more impressive result could have been expected.

In contrast, Spurs will only be missing Emmanuel Adebayor but the Togolese striker has looked tired in recent weeks while likely replacement Jermain Defoe has looked sharp. Ledley King is also a doubt for the visitors but when is he not? The impressive form of Younes Kaboul goes some way to making up for this.

Revenge!
Having lost 5-1 at home - in a pre-Adebayor and Scott Parker world - Tottenham will not lack for motivation. Revenge will be on their minds!

Tactics
A draw would probably be an acceptable result for Roberto Mancini as it would keep his team five points clear of Tottenham with another game gone. But there seems little doubt that he will try to land a knockout blow on City's London rivals and that could play into Spurs' hands given the frightening speed they possess. However, the temptation to go eight points clear with a home win will surely see the Citizens push forward. With Scott Parker, Luka Modric and potentially Jake Livermore providing effective screening and with Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale on the wings Tottenham look very dangerous on the break.

Spurs react well to losing
Put aside the first two Premier League games of the season and Tottenham have reacted well on every occasion that they've dropped points, pulling off wins after draws at Newcastle, Chelsea and Swansea and the defeat at Stoke. This team has a serious will to win ... will you back them to do it on Sunday?