Jake Pearson correctly assessed the first leg of Tottenham's tie against Dinamo Zagreb, and he returns with two best bets in the second leg.
Football betting tips: Dinamo Zagreb v Tottenham
1pt Tottenham to win at 21/20 (Unibet)
1pt Dele Alli to score at 7/2 (Unibet)
What a difference a week can make in football. Prior to Spurs' first leg against Dinamo Zagreb the vibes around the Tottenham Hotspur stadium were practically palpitating.
Gareth Bale had suddenly returned to the peak of his powers, scoring and assisting goals whenever he saw fit, Harry Kane was continually defying all reason and logic in unmistakable Harry Kane fashion, and Tottenham looked a vibrant, attacking team with genuine top-four intentions.
Fast forward and many people around the country, not just Spurs fans, are calling for Jose Mourinho’s head.
This is all of course in the aftermath to Tottenham’s underwhelming display in Sunday’s North London derby, letting a 1-0 lead slip as they succumbed 2-1 to bitter rivals Arsenal.
Suddenly, Mourinho is a dinosaur with outdated tactics and ideologies, all on the back of one defeat, a defeat that incidentally ended a five-game winning streak for Jose’s side.
The reality is, Mourinho was brought to the club to end Spurs' trophy hoodoo, and the Portuguese manager is in with a genuine chance of doing that this season.
They are 90 minutes away from their first trophy since 2008 in the Carabao Cup final at the end of April, albeit it is Manchester City who stand in their way, and they also look to have one foot in the quarter finals of the Europa League after their 2-0 victory over Dinamo Zagreb in the home fixture of this tie.
Add in the fact that Spurs are just six points behind fourth-placed Chelsea with a game in hand, and all this scrutiny does seem a little unwarranted.
Arguably the biggest blow on Sunday, even bigger than the defeat, was the injury sustained by Son Heung-Min, with the South Korean set to miss the trip to Croatia.
Having said that though, Dele Alli is not a bad replacement, particularly based on his Europa League form this season.
He has scored twice and assisted a further three goals in his seven appearances in the competition, so could be one to keep an eye on in the ANYTIME GOALSCORER market, with a standout price of 7/2 making plenty of appeal.
Dinamo Zagreb face a huge uphill task in this second leg.
Trying to come from two goals behind against a Mourinho team is no mean feat, and despite Zagreb’s recent outstanding league form, there was a clear gulf in class between these two in the first leg, particularly in terms of individual players.
Zagreb bounced back with a 5-0 shellacking of Varazdin domestically, a victory that edged them ever closer to yet another league title, but they will find it much more difficult to break down a Spurs side who need only keep a clean sheet to progress.
Though Tottenham do not need to win this game, the firepower that Spurs have at their disposal, particularly against a team that need to come out and attack, will likely prove too much for the Croatian champions-elect, meaning backing a TOTTENHAM WIN at odds-against is recommended.
Dinamo Zagreb v Tottenham best bets and score prediction
- 1pt Tottenham to win at 21/20 (Unibet)
- 1pt Dele Alli to score at 7/2 (Unibet)
Score prediction: Dinamo Zagreb 0-1 Tottenham (Sky Bet odds: 7/1)
Odds correct at 1200 GMT (16/03/21)
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