Prediction & odds for the game: Tottenham (2/5) v Norwich (13/2)

When: Wednesday, 22nd January 2020 @ 7.30pm K.O

Where: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Tottenham Hotspur’s top four hopes hang in the balance as they prepare to host Norwich City in the Premier League.

Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur’s start to life under the guidance of Jose Mourinho hasn’t exactly gone to plan, mainly due to important injuries, a distinct lack of investment from Daniel Levy and a real void in confidence throughout the squad. Regardless of what they do between now and the end of the January transfer window, the best that this club can hope for is a top six finish at the very minimum and a decent showing in both the FA Cup and Champions League.

The narrow win over Middlesbrough in their FA Cup third round replay was needed, but it didn’t do a whole lot to calm the nerves around the club – especially after they drew the initial tie 1-1. They’ve also drawn against Watford and Norwich themselves as of late, in addition to suffering defeats at the hands of Liverpool and in-form Southampton.

Norwich

There are signs of life at Carrow Road regarding their survival hopes, and given the quality they’ve got within their squad, it’s not at all ridiculous to suggest they could go on a bit of a run to give themselves a shot before the end of the season. They’ve had their injuries and the bad luck factor has been there for all to see, but all of these excuses are just that: excuses. Nobody expects them to pull this off, so they should go into the second half of the campaign with very little pressure on their shoulders.

With just two defeats in their last six games in all competitions, Canaries fans can be forgiven for getting behind their side’s survival push. The losses in question came against Manchester United and Aston Villa, but they’ve also secured impressive draws against Tottenham and Crystal Palace to go alongside victories over Preston in the FA Cup and Bournemouth in the Premier League.

Conclusion

We’re backing Tottenham Hotspur to win this game and it really is that simple. All of the factors that indicate they could slip up once again are valid, but Jose Mourinho is the sort of manager that likes to learn from his mistakes. Sure, he may be destined to make a few more down the road, but we are picturing a Spurs goal early before the hosts set up camp and produce a strong, yet dull, defensive performance which allows them to grind out a win and put a tiny bit of pressure back on Chelsea.

Such a performance comes with some negatives and one of those negatives will be that this game will come nowhere near three goals, meaning we’re backing the under 2.5 goals market.

Verdict: Back the home win at odds of 2/5 and the under 2.5 goals scored at odds of 6/4. (All odds are taken from bet365).

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