Jake Pearson provides his best bet and score prediction for Tottenham's Europa Conference League qualifier against Portuguese side Pacos Ferriera.
Football betting tips: Europa Conference League
1pt Both Teams To Score at 20/21 (MansionBet)
Pacos Ferreira earned themselves a shot at the Europa Conference League thanks to a fifth-placed finish in the Portuguese Primeira Liga last season.
They demolished Northern Irish side Larne 4-0 at home in the previous qualifying round, and though they lost 1-0 in the return leg, only four players that started the first match also started the second.
For the Portuguese side, this represents a real opportunity to play European football, something the club have only achieved once in their history, when they made it to the Europa League group stage in 2013/14.
Kick-off time: 19:30 BST, Thursday
TV channel: Premier Sports 1
Pacos Ferreira 15/4 | Draw 3/1 | Tottenham 4/7
Spurs are clearly fancied to win this match, though not quite to the extent as might have been expected, bookmakers giving Nuno Espirito Santo’s side a 63% chance of victory.
Given the way they played against Manchester City at the weekend, perfectly executing their game plan to beat the champions 1-0, perhaps they deserve to be slightly shorter in the betting, but motivation remains a huge factor in this match.
While Nuno took Wolves’ Europa League campaign refreshingly seriously, it is still in question as to what sort of team the Portuguese coach will field against Ferreira.
Unpopular as it may be, the fact remains that playing in the Europa Conference League will hinder Tottenham’s progress this season, particularly if Harry Kane does make his move to Manchester City, and there is a very real possibility that priorities at the club lie elsewhere.
A big personal match against Wolves at the weekend may also force Nuno’s hand into playing a weakened team, and that is the danger with backing Spurs to win in this fixture.
Pacos Ferriera’s home form was far superior to their away form last season, racking up 1.94 points per game at home, as opposed to 1.18 when on the road, as well as averaging 1.35 goals per game at home, and just 1 when away from home.
Their three competitive home matches this season have seen them score seven times, and in short, Spurs may have their work cut out to stop the Portuguese side finding the back of the net.
Conversely, Tottenham failed to score in just 16% of their Premier League matches last campaign, while only games involving Manchester United, West Ham and Leicester saw Both Teams To Score land more than games involving Spurs.
Add into the mix the fact that this is a huge game for Pacos Ferriera, and that Tottenham are not necessarily going to play their full-strength starting XI, and backing BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE at a top price of 20/21 makes plenty of appeal.
Pacos Ferriera v Tottenham best bets and score prediction
- Both Teams To Score at 20/21 (MansionBet)
Score prediction: Pacos Ferreiras 1-2 Tottenham (Sky Bet odds: 13/2)
Odds correct at 2045 BST (17/08/21)
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