Vitesse v Tottenham: Spurs are likely to concede again

Vitesse Arnhem 4.57/2 v Tottenham Hotspur 1.75/7; The Draw 3.9
Thursday 21 October, 17:45
Live on BT Sport 1

Vitesse must avoid defeat

Vitesse will be looking to bounce back, having suffered defeat in their last Europa Conference League outing.

The Dutch club beat Mura 2-0 in the opening match and took the lead at home to Rennes in their second game. Yet the French side fought back to go 2-1 ahead and though they were reduced to ten men with 20 minutes of the game still remaining, Vitesse were unable to score an equaliser.

Now they face the group leaders Spurs and need at least a point to keep themselves in contention in Group G, with Rennes likely to beat the whipping boys Mura. In their favour, they come into this match off the back of some good form in the Eredivisie.

Vitesse pulled off a 2-1 win over Feyenoord before the international break and claimed another victory when they won 1-0 at NEC over the weekend. The Vitesse manager Thomas Letsch has just one injury problem to worry about, with his goalkeeper Daan Reiziger currently out.

Tottenham on winning run, but still conceding

It’s been a very mixed start for Nuno at Tottenham, but they come into this match on a run of wins.

The 3-2 win at Newcastle on Sunday was the third successive victory for Spurs. This sequence started with a 5-1 win against Mura in the Europa Conference League, with Tottenham having drawn 2-2 at Rennes in their opening game.

It was hard to access how well Spurs performed at the weekend, with Newcastle looking very poor right now. An obvious concern is that Tottenham still let in two goals, in a game they largely dominated. Spurs have now conceded in eight consecutive games, with Nuno having the same issues between finding the balance between defensive solidity and attacking threat, as his predecessor Jose Mourinho did.

Harry Kane scored his first Premier League goal of the season against Newcastle, to take his tally in all competitions to seven goals in 11 games. It will be interesting to see whether Nuno selects Kane and/or Heung-Min Son, or put his trust in the teenage striker Dane Scarlett, who started against Mura. Currently the only player definitely unavailable to Nuno is Ryan Sessegnon, with Matt Doherty a doubt having missed the game against Newcastle.

Spurs too short to recommend

Tottenham are the favourites at 1.75/7, with the draw at 3.9 and Vitesse Arnhem at 4.57/2.

Though Spurs are on a winning run, their price looks a little short. They have been erratic this season, producing some very poor performances at times. In a game in which Nuno is likely to rotate – at least to some degree – they should be bigger.

If looking to back the visitors, the key could be to combine a Tottenham victory with the goals markets.

Goals seem a certainty

Both teams to score is 1.768/11. As mentioned, Spurs have conceded in eight consecutive games, which includes both of their matches in the Europa Conference League group stage.

A Tottenham win and both teams to score is 3.412/5, with an away victory and over 2.5 goals priced at 2.68/5. Over 2.5 goals is 1.748/11, while over 3.5 goals is 2.915/8 and has landed in both of Tottenham’s group games.