Our football props column has an 11/2 player card bet for Wednesday’s London derby in the Carabao Cup semi-finals – Chelsea v Tottenham…
“The last six meetings have had card tallies of 1-5-6-4-3-8 and with so much at stake here amid a raucous atmosphere, it’s not hard to envisage another high number.”
Chelsea v Tottenham
Wednesday 5 January, 19:45
Live on Sky Sports Football and Main Event
With not too much to go at from a props perspective on Wednesday, let’s target the big game of the night, the Carabao Cup semi-final, first leg, at Stamford Bridge.
There have been plenty of these two-legged ties over the years which have looked rather one-sided but here things promise to be highly competitive with Chelsea only narrow favourites (8/11) to qualify for the Wembley final.
It is that competitive aspect which leads me to the player ‘shown a card’ market.
History suggests it could be a busy night for referee Craig Pawson – and I’m not simply talking about that infamous ‘Battle of the Bridge’ game which saw Leicester crowned champions in 2016, a match which featured 12 yellow cards.
The last six meetings have had card tallies of 1-5-6-4-3-8 and with so much at stake here amid a raucous atmosphere, it’s not hard to envisage another high number.
Pawson is ‘carding’ at just over the Premier League average, showing 3.83 yellows per game, and this will be his first taste of this particular London derby, so there’s clear potential.
So who is the player in question?
Step forward Harry Kane, who has seen more cards against Chelsea than any other club.
He’s collected five of them in his 15 starts for Spurs against the Blues, a statistic which immediately makes odds of 11/2 look big.
Kane, who has three cards so far this season, has spoken in the past about what big a game Chelsea is for Tottenham and with confidence flowing after three goals in his last four games, expect the England captain to be putting himself about a bit.
The home fans will be on his back throughout and a battle with the tetchy Toni Rudiger in the Chelsea defence has the potential to create a flashpoint or two.
Overall, the price just looks rather lumpy and worth a punt.
Click here for Dan Fitch’s in-depth preview of Chelsea v Spurs
Source: BetFair Tips
