Tottenham Hotspur will be hosting lowly Middlesbrough at home at White Hart Lane in London in an important English Premier League fixture this Saturday, February 4th. Tottenham is coming off a disappointing 0-0 draw at relegation-zone Sunderland on Tuesday while Middlesbrough drew 1-1 at home at Riverside Stadium with West Bromwich Albion the same evening.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Middlesbrough – Pinnacle Soccer Betting Line:
- Pinnacle currently lists Tottenham as the favorites to win the game at -356 with Middlesbrough +1252 and a draw at +504
Tottenham Hotspur vs Middlesbrough – Head to Head:
- These two teams last met in September in league action with Spurs winning 2-1 on the road at Riverside Stadium. There most recent meetings prior to that took place in the 2008/09 campaign with Middlesbrough winning 2-1 at home in August of 2008 and Spurs winning their home match 4-0 in March of 2009. The clubs have met 92 times in the past with Middlesbrough winning 35, losing 34 and drawing the other 23. Middlesbrough has just two victories in the past 12 meetings with six seven defeats and three draws
Tottenham Hotspur – A Closer Look:
Tottenham enters this game on a nine-game unbeaten streak in the Premier League after their six-game winning string was halted with a recent 2-2 draw at Manchester City. Spurs have 47 points from 13 wins, eight draws and just two losses . They’ve scored 45 goals and conceded a league-low 16. They’re now in a second-place tie with Arsenal, but have a better goal differential so sit second in the standings.
Spurs are still nine points back of first-place Chelsea while they’re one ahead of both fourth-place Liverpool and Man City and five points ahead of sixth-place Manchester United. Spurs now have 11 wins in their past 23 contests in all competitions along with six draws and five losses. They’ve won 10 of their past 13 games in all competitions. Tottenham is unbeaten at home in league action this season with nine wins and two draws with 25 goals for and just five against.
On the injury front, it looks like forward Erik Lamela and defender Jan Vertonghen are doubtful while defenders Danny Rose and Kieran Trippier are being assessed along with forward Georges-Kevin Nkoudou. Also, Tom Carroll was sold to Swansea for 4.5 million pounds in the recent January transfer window. Nobody was brought in and several fringe players were sent out on loan to lower league clubs.
Middlesbrough – A Closer Look:
Middlesbrough was promoted to the Premier League from the second-tier Championship League at the end of last season and their goal is to stay out of the relegation zone this campaign. They’re currently just above it as they sit in 15th place in the 20-team league. They have just 21 points out of a possible 69 after 23 matches with a league-low 19 goals for and 26 against. They’re tied on points with both Leicester and Swansea, but have a better goal differential than those teams.
However, they’re just two points ahead of 18th-place Crystal Palace and the relegation zone. Middlesbrough has put together just two wins, three draws and five losses in their past 10 league matches with seven goals for and 11 against. They have just one victory away from home along with six draws and four losses with eight goals scored and 12 allowed. As far as injuries go, defender George Friend is questionable along with midfielders Calum Chambers and Gastón Ramírez while defender Barragán is reportedly back training with the squad and could play.
The club made several moves during the recent transfer window as it acquired Rudy Gestede from Aston Villa, Mikael Soisalo from Ilves Tampere, Patrick Bamford from Chelsea and Adlene Guedioura from Watford. Several players were sent out on loan including Julien de Sart, Mark Kitching, Carlos De Pena, Tomas Mejias, Jordan Rhodes, Callum Cooke, Jordan Rhodes and Harry Chapman. In addition, David Nugent was sold to Derby County, Emilio Nsue to Birmingham City, Bryn Morris to Shrewsbury Town and Arnel Jakupovic to Empoli.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Middlesbrough – Takeaway:
Tottenham blew a couple of points at lowly Sunderland on Tuesday and need to make sure they take all three here if they want to keep within range of Chelsea. Middlesbrough also need as many points as possible to avoid relegation and will probably be happy with a draw here.