Blackburn vs Spurs Betting Preview

Spurs have failed to take three points from their half-dozen away matches played in the Premiership this season and, currently occupying a position worse than mid-table, the north London side badly need a victory when travelling to Ewood Park to take on Blackburn on Sunday. Spurs' propensity to alternate between the sublime and the ridiculous has been in evidence recently. A convincing beating of Bruges in a Uefa Cup fixture was followed by a titanic performance to lower the colours of the mighty Chelsea at White Hart Lane. Then, inexplicably, Martin Jol's men folded tamely at Reading last weekend, throwing away the one-goal lead they gained after Robbie Keane converted from the spot after 24 minutes. Reading are a decent side, don't get me wrong, but on the back of such outstanding performances it was a case of poor show from Spurs. The travelling faithful must have felt as though they had been short changed! Consistency isn't something with which Blackburn are synonymous at present. The Rovers have posted some solid efforts against top opposition during the current campaign - they have given both Liverpool and Man Utd a good run for their money - but they have lost their last four consecutive Premiership fixtures, scoring just a solitary goal in the quartet of matches in question. Tottenham are undefeated against Blackburn in their last five encounters, and boast a superior strike rate in the head-to-head record between the two sides. However, goals, or lack of them, is also a major problem for them. Indeed, no Spurs player has scored from open play on their travels in the Premiership so far this season - a disconcerting stat, whichever way you look at it. And, to make Spurs' task a tad more testing, Welshman Robbie Savage is likely to be back in the fold for Sunday's match having missed Blackburn's last three league matches. Savage is not the most endearing of characters at times, but there can be little doubt that he is the heartbeat of the Lancashire club, and the 31-year-old will be eager to get straight back in the mix and assert his authority in the centre of the park. With the visitors' strikers misfiring to such a debilitating degree away from 'The Lane', perhaps with the exception of new signing Dimitar Berbatov who has not always had much ammunition to work with, Spurs will find it hard going to break down the dogged, tenacious Blackburn defence. With this in mind, I'd suggesting having a nibble at Paddy Power's offer of 17/10 about the home side keeping a clean sheet. Verdict - 2.5pts Blackburn to keep a clean sheet @ 17/10 (Paddy Power) Spurs' propensity to alternate between the sublime and the ridiculous has been in evidence recently. A convincing beating of Bruges in a Uefa Cup fixture was followed by a titanic performance to lower the colours of the mighty Chelsea at White Hart Lane. Then, inexplicably, Martin Jol's men folded tamely at Reading last weekend, throwing away the one-goal lead they gained after Robbie Keane converted from the spot after 24 minutes. Reading are a decent side, don't get me wrong, but on the back of such outstanding performances it was a case of poor show from Spurs. The travelling faithful must have felt as though they had been short changed! Consistency isn't something with which Blackburn are synonymous at present. The Rovers have posted some solid efforts against top opposition during the current campaign - they have given both Liverpool and Man Utd a good run for their money - but they have lost their last four consecutive Premiership fixtures, scoring just a solitary goal in the quartet of matches in question. Tottenham are undefeated against Blackburn in their last five encounters, and boast a superior strike rate in the head-to-head record between the two sides. However, goals, or lack of them, is also a major problem for them. Indeed, no Spurs player has scored from open play on their travels in the Premiership so far this season - a disconcerting stat, whichever way you look at it. And, to make Spurs' task a tad more testing, Welshman Robbie Savage is likely to be back in the fold for Sunday's match having missed Blackburn's last three league matches. Savage is not the most endearing of characters at times, but there can be little doubt that he is the heartbeat of the Lancashire club, and the 31-year-old will be eager to get straight back in the mix and assert his authority in the centre of the park. With the visitors' strikers misfiring to such a debilitating degree away from 'The Lane', perhaps with the exception of new signing Dimitar Berbatov who has not always had much ammunition to work with, Spurs will find it hard going to break down the dogged, tenacious Blackburn defence. With this in mind, I'd suggesting having a nibble at Paddy Power's offer of 17/10 about the home side keeping a clean sheet. Verdict - 2.5pts Blackburn to keep a clean sheet @ 17/10 (Paddy Power)