FA Cup: Spurs vs Chelsea Betting Tips and Preview

Spurs have met Chelsea twice this season, winning once and drawing the other match in question. So, despite being the underdogs going into this FA Cup quarter-final replay at White Hart Lane on Monday evening, Martin Jol's men have nothing to fear. In fact, I am pretty confident they'll dump the Blues out of the competition this time, therefore I'm going to lap up stanjames' offer of 5-2 about a home win. The north London side came agonisingly close to causing an upset at Stamford Bridge just over a week ago when they went into the interval with an unlikely 1-3 lead. The game really should have been put to bed after the break - most notably when Jermaine Defoe's strike unluckily hit the woodwork - but Chelsea demonstrated their tenacity to force this replay. Spurs have a propensity to slip defensively towards the end of their matches and the defensive headaches Jol has been suffering through the absence of Ledley King were intensified when Anthony Gardiner picked up an injury recently. The quartet of Chimbonda, Dawson, Rocha and Young-Pyo Lee looked sound during the 3-1 win against Watford on Saturday. However, needless to say, the threat posed by the Hornets is incomparable to that of Jose Mourinho's charges. Conversely, Chelsea skipper John Terry, who was absent at 'The Bridge' in take one of this tie, is back in the mix. It has to be said, a couple of the goals Spurs scored at Stamford Bridge were as much attributable to poor defending as they were testament to the vigour and gusto the team displayed. And had Terry been at the helm that day, you have to wonder whether those goals would have been scored in the first place. But, having said that, while their record remains rock-solid this season, it's fair to say that Chelsea have generally been subject to a greater level of vulnerability when on the road this term in comparison to the previous two seasons - Terry or no Terry. Indeed, Spurs proved ended a long-running hoodoo when toppling the sw London outfit at 'The Lane' in a Premiership fixture in November, for which the visitors can have no genuine excuses. Tottenham were suffering from a significant lack of goals earlier in their campaign, but that problem is no longer prevalent. Jol has been getting a great tune out of his squad of late and the confidence within the team has been reflected on the pitch: they are unbeaten in their last eight in all competitions, winning seven of the matches in question, and have averaged 3.25 goals per game during this period. Pretty compelling stuff by any standards. Chelsea also have wind in their sails - they are unbeaten in their last 13 and, like Spurs, come into this match on the back of a cosy league win. Everything is set fair for an enthralling clash. The home side rested strikers Berbatov and Keane at the weekend, while Mourinho ensured that his midfielder dynamos Ballack and Lampard, along with forwards, Drogba and Shevchenko, didn't play a full game against Sheff Utd. Clearly, this means an awful lot to both managers. But only one manager will prevail on the night - and that will be Jol. Verdict - 2pts Tottenham Hotspur to win @ 11/5 (stanjames)