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Tottenham will look to keep their fantastic run of form going when they travel to the Hawthorns to take on West Brom on Saturday.
Spurs’ 2-0 win over Aston Villa at White Hart Lane on Monday was their 9th win in their last eight games – the dropped points coming courtesy of a draw against Newcastle - to move them into the top three with a game in hand and to prompt boss Harry Redknapp to suggest his side could challenge for the title this season.
While that may be one step too far for the North London side they have impressed many with their irrepressible brand of football over the past three months, but West Brom will be hoping to put an end to the praise heading to their opponents with an upset win on Saturday.
On-loan striker Emmanuel Adebayor expressed his desire to make his temporary switch from Manchester City permanent this week, and the Togoloese forward will be central to Redknapp’s plans to pick up three points at the Hawthorns.
Adeybayor took his tally to five for the season in a white shirt with a Brace against Villa, and he is likely to lead the line once more this weekend, although Redknapp faces a selection headache over who plays alongside him.
Rafael Van Der Vaart has been the man in possession of the second strikers shirt in recent weeks, and recently equalled a club record for scoring in five consecutive Premier League games meaning Jermain Defoe has been left out in the cold.
However the Dutch international picked up an injury while in international duty last week and despite the fact he pulled through to start against Villa, he may be wrapped up in cotton wool in the face of two games in six days.
Defoe sent a clear message to Redknapp when he scored five in a reserve game against Wigan on Wednesday, exactly two years to the day he became only the third player to bag five in a single game against Wigan in 2009, and will no doubt be pushing for a starting spot come Saturday.
West Brom meanwhile came off the back of defeats against Liverpool and Arsenal to claim a precious 2-1 win over Bolton, and although Baggies boss Roy Hodgson won’t be overly confident of taking maximum points the Liverpool man will be hoping to spring an upset.
The Baggies goalscoring threat is likely to come from Republic of Ireland international Shane Long, who returned to action from injury with a bang, scoring the winner against Bolton.
Match Winner
Tottenham’s immense form of late means there is only one way the bookies would go for this game, and that is to favour a Spurs victory.
The visitors are 1.95 (20/21) with BoyleSports to take three points and keep the pressure up on both Manchester clubs while West Brom are placed at 4.20 (16/5) with StanJames.
The draw is 3.75 (11/4) with William Hill.
First Goalscorer
After scoring his first goals since September against Aston Villa, it is no surprise that Emmanuel Adebayor is the favourite to open the scoring on Saturday.
The former Real Madrid man is 7.50 (11/2) with VC Bet while his regular partner in crime Rafael Van Der Vaart is just behind him at 7.00 (6/1) with BWIN.
Shane Long is 10.00 (9/1) with VC Bet, but perhaps the player offering the best value is Gareth Bale, who is in the midst of a rich vein of goalscoring form and is 11.00 (10/1) with BWIN.
Recommended Bets
First Goalscorer: Gareth Bale, 11.00 (10/1) BWIN
Correct score: Spurs 2-1, 8.50 (15/2) SkyBet
