Both Tottenham and Chelsea are right up there in terms of scoring goals. Chelsea became the first team to break the 30 goal mark in the season on Wednesday night after thrashing 10-man Southampton 1-5. They are second in the Premier League, a position that has been long coming for the Blues, but the one area that they don’t do as well in is beating big 6 teams.
Tottenham, on the other hand, have beaten Manchester City twice this season, but the team has not yet shown the capacity to hold onto winning streaks. How can a team that beat Manchester City lose to Ipswich and Crystal Palace – but one thing is certain. This game will definitely put both teams to the test, and there are lengthy odds all across the board.
Tottenham vs Chelsea Match Preview
December 8, Sunday 16:30 @ Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Spurs dropped points in their last two home games, drawing against Fulham and losing to Ipswich, who are in the relegation zone. Before that, they thrashed Aston Villa and West Ham both 4-1. They just haven’t capitalised on these important home wins, but Tottenham have riled up the home crowd with 17 goals from 7 games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Chelsea love an away game, they have won 5 from 7 of their games away from home, scoring 19 goals and conceding just 7. But they have to work on controlling the games against bigger teams. Losses to Man City and Liverpool, and the draw against Arsenal, have held Chelsea back from giving chase to Liverpool.
Tottenham vs Chelsea Bet Builder Picks
The odds on either team to win are extremely generous, and bets on goal scorers are also well priced. The home advantage and Chelsea’s record against bigger teams is enough to give oddsmakers reason not to tilt the odds fully in Chelsea’s favour. This game could very well end in a tie, or decided by a last minute goal by either side.
We have noted the following on this game. Moneyline and Goalscorer bets come at lengthy prices. Total Goals and BTTS are less generous, as the oddsmakers are predicting this to be a goalfest. The closest Total Goals betting line to even money is set at Over 3.5. They are really predicting this game should end with 3-4 goals scored.
Goal Scorer Bets
As for goal scorers, Chelsea’s Cole Palmer is in excellent form right now, with a goal in the last game and a goal and assist in the game before. But before that he went 3 games without any contributions. The area for concern betting on anytime goalscorers is that there are just too many in both clubs. Spurs can rely on James Maddison, Dominic Solanke, up and comer Brennan Johnson, or their longtime stalwart forward Heung-min Son. In Chelsea the natural option would be Cole Palmer, but Nicolas Jackson has also shown great prowess, and then we haven’t even factored in Noni Madueke, Joao Felix, or Christopher Nkunku.
Cole Palmer Anytime Scorer @ 13/10
While it is tempting to go ahead and bet on Cole Palmer, which is quite an educated prediction, it barely doubles your money. Palmer will almost definitely start this game, and he is the most likely to score in Chelsea. As for Spurs, Ange Postecoglou regularly mixes up his starting forwards, rotating Timo Werner, Heung-min Son, Brennan Johnson and Dominic Solanke. It is difficult to predict just who he will put in his starting lineup for this game.
Betting on Match Goals
Odds of 3/8 on over 2.5 goals is extremely short. The likelihood of there being 3+ goals is high, but betting Over 3.5 feels quite risky given the two teams both played midweek games and the players may not have the same energy levels in this game. Yes, there could be defensive mistakes, super subs and good luck to bolster the scoring, but the same could be said about both managers playing it safe and fatigue dictating the pace and nature of their chances.
Both teams to score is priced at 7/20 which also feels exaggerated. One market that caught our attention was First Team to Score. Chelsea have scored the first goal in 5 of their last 6 games, whereas Tottenham generally don’t. Even in their 4-1 wins against Villa and West Ham, Tottenham conceded the first goal, and that is what sprung the team into action.
Chelsea to Score First @ 17/20
While BTTS comes at short odds on the entire game, it can also be used in either half, which is useful in this game. Looking at both teams’ scoring and conceding records, Chelsea is frighteningly consistent. They have scored 16 goals in the first half and 15 in the second. Spurs score more in the second half. Both teams have good subs and will need to use them after the midweek Premier League games, not only to try and win this game but to also avoid injuries and maintain freshness. Therefore, our experts predict the second half to be a lot more open, and for both teams to score.
BTTS Second Half @ 6/5
Best Game Props
Both teams are very attack driven, and while this points towards a big tally of goals, there is a remote chance that they will struggle in the final third. Both will fancy their chances, but it may become a tug of war in which they trade long shots and half chances. This may lead to goals, but there is a greater chance it will yield lots of corner kicks.
Forcing goalkeepers to punch the ball out or defenders to clear the ball are easy ways to turn half chances into corners, and there is a good chance that the teams will want to play it safe in defence and take no chances. Neither Spurs nor Chelsea are particularly noted for their corner conversion rate (just compare them with set piece specialists Arsenal).
Over 9.5 Corners @ 8/15
Picking the Winner
It’s time to pick a winner, and our experts are leaning slightly towards Chelsea for this one. Maresca now has enough game time and Premier League exposure to stand his ground against the top 6 teams. Spurs are generally a top 6 side, and their performances against a fragile Manchester City show that they know how to turn up for the important fixtures. But Chelsea are a team that always has quick transitions under new managers, and right now they have the squad depth, in form players and ruthless (should we say cold) mentality that is required to finish the job.
Chelsea beat Tottenham in the past two H2H games, and their away record this season shows they are not intimidated on the road. Ange Postecoglou will need a lot of luck to withstand Chelsea’s attack, and he doesn’t have his first choice keeper Vicario, either. The game may end in a hard fought draw, but we are betting on Chelsea to win, whether by clawing out a 0-1 victory or running away with a flurry of goals from their top performers.
Chelsea Moneyline @ 13/10
BettingTools Tottenham vs Chelsea Bet Builder Picks
Making what we could of the shorter odds on Over goals markets, and the presumed evenly matched teams, we have come up with two bet builders for Tottenham vs Chelsea. The first bet builder will back Chelsea to score first and win, with the game to feature at least 10 corners.
In our second bet builder, we have backed Cole Palmer to score against Tottenham, and for both teams to score goals in the second half. The betting strategy here is that the two bets don’t interfere with each other, so there is a chance of one winning if the other loses – and even a chance of both bets to come through. If you want to try out different combinations of our predictions, taking out or adding your own suggestions, feel free to do so. We would only ask you to please post them on our Twitter @BettingTools, where you can compare how your bet builder compares with ours and all our betting peers.
When assessing betting markets for your bet builder, we would advise you to keep an odds calculator at the ready, so you can quickly calculate the odds and tweak the accas to your liking. You can also work out how worth it each bet is, by comparing the implied probability against your expected value, and that should help you avoid any markets that are poorly priced (let’s face it, there are plenty of those on this match). We look forward to seeing what you come up with, or hearing your take on our betting predictions – see you at kickoff!
