Shorthanded Spurs Still Odds-on Favorite vs Watford at Wembley

Tottenham plays host to Watford at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday, January 30^th…or at least most of Tottenham’s midfield and backline.

The rest are out with injury. London and Las Vegas like Spurs to win by at least a goal, but the betting odds are nowhere near as short as they would be if the regular starting lineup was available.

Bovada Sportsbook likes Tottenham (-1) to win by a single tally. Spurs also enjoys a (-145) moneyline next to a (+400) (or 4-to-1) payout on the 90+ minute winner for Watford

The Over/Under goal total for the fixture is (2 ½) which tells you flat-out how much the hosts’ offense is expected to take a hit from the superstar absences.

Mauricio Pochettino’s club has felt the pinch of injuries since the start of the season, and Spurs may now be looking back to the summer transfer window and pointing with frustration at their recruitment teams for the predicament they find themselves in. The loss of Heung-Min Son to the Asian Cup creates a potential goal-scoring drought, given the recent injuries to Deli Alli and striker Harry Kane.

With the team captain ruled out until March after suffering an ankle injury against Manchester United last week, Spurs were looking toward Deli Alli to help pick up the attack. But after scoring in Tottenham’s last outing against Fulham, Alli picked up a hamstring injury.

Not all is lost if the squad can somehow find a way to earn 3 points in winnable matches until the superstars begin returning. Of course, that’s a very tall order.

Watford a Worthy Wednesday Foe

Signs were excellent early in the season for Watford, though the club couldn’t keep up its terrific 12-points-in-4 matches pace from the start of the campaign.

Hornets’ aggressive style of play and knife-edge formations under manager Javier Garcia led to some pundits comparing Watford to Leicester City’s devilish 2015-16 squad during the winning streak. Since then, however, the team has experienced classic Premier League “reversion” to drop back to 7^th place.

Still, the club maintains a high level of quality on the pitch in all arenas, fighting hard against Tottenham in a dramatic EPL Cup quarterfinal and advancing to the 4^th Round of the FA Cup.

Hornet captain Troy Deeney has been partnered with Andre Grey, and the forwards have scored 25 goals between them in all competitions so far this season. With Roberto Pereyra playing as an attacking midfielder in support, the nucleus of a world-class attack is starting to form. Pereyra has 6 goals to his name and is no slouch in a fast-paced fixture.

Watford have been revitalized on the backline. With the club’s focus on protecting central areas of the field, lines of 4 players each are sewn tightly, forcing the opposition to play into wide areas of the field while looking for ways through the fierce Hornets back-line.

Spurs Need Spark to Survive

Tottenham should look toward “The Great Dane” Christian Eriksen to provide the key that unlocks Watford’s stubborn defense. On a less optimistic note, Eriksen’s teammate Fernando Llorente will look to fill the void left by Kane at the striker position. Llorente has only scored 4 goals all season, none in league play and 3 in a lopsided FA Cup outing.

At least South Korea could always lose and send Son home early.

Three Lions upstart Harry Winks has taken full advantage of his teammates’ injury problems to cement a spot in the lineup. Winks has recorded an average of 89% pass completions playing a key midfielder’s role at the “base of the Tottenham diamond.”

Tottenham’s quad-cornered formation will need to become a way of holding the enemy off the scoreboard, as much as it is designed to score goals. Rosary-bead runs at Watford keeper Ben Foster won’t do a whole lot of good, since it most likely just gives the Hornets the football back and puts Spurs immediately on the defensive again.

If and when Garcia takes steps to eliminate the threat of Tottenham’s midfield feeding the ball to a replacement striker, there may not be a whole lot Spurs can do to keep the underdog from minimizing its goal-scoring chances despite the ever-present roar of supporters.

Handicapping Spurs vs Hornets at Wembley Stadium

Spurs still carry more elite talent onto the pitch than the visiting Hornets do. Yet it’s hard whenever an attack is carved-up by sprains, strains and circumstances the way that the favorites’ attacking lines have been decimated over the past 2 weeks. Every potential 3 points is so precious at the moment that Spurs can be forgiven for playing a little tight.

Yet if there’s nothing for Watford to counter, then Watford cannot counter. If the Hornets manage to generate an attack out of nothing and somehow approach Hugo Lloris, well, he’s one of the best there is in the sport.

The Under (2 ½) is far and away the best market. Spurs aren’t going to score a bunch of goals, but the hosts are darn sure not going to let Watford tally more than once.