Football betting tips: Monday Night Football
1pt Oliver Skipp to be shown a card at 7/2 (Sky Bet, William Hill)
Tottenham showed great resilience to edge past Luton 1-0 in their game before the international break, not least because they were a man light.
Those three points ensured they went into the fortnight off top of the Premier League, ahead of their north London rivals Arsenal on goals scored.
Ange Postecoglou’s side are a joy to behold but the underlying data suggests they may be a little fortunate to find themselves top of the tree as they are significantly outperforming xG metrics at both ends of the pitch.
A caveat to that offensively is they have Son Heung-min and James Maddison in their XI, two players renowned for cheating this metric. Defensively, some regression could be expected.
What are the best bets?
Yves Bissouma's suspension leaves the hosts a bit light in the middle of the park. Who will attempt to fill the void?
Ange Postecoglou opted for OLIVER SKIPP on matchday one at Brentford but when Bissouma was sent off at Luton, it was Pierre-Emile Højbjerg that was brought into the frame at half-time.
The opposition should suit Skipp more but whoever it is, the bet is for the replacement TO BE SHOWN A CARD.
Skipp was carded against Brentford, taking his Premier League tally to 14, pretty large considering he has only started 15 games.
The midfielder's cards-per-90 average is 0.39 which would make anything north of 2/1 worth considering, so the 7/2 available certainly has some juice.
BuildABet @ 70/1
- Oliver Skipp to be carded
- Richarlison to be carded
- Bobby De Cordova-Reid to be carded
A card-happy referee taking charge of a derby, live on Sky. It looks like a perfect storm for bookings aplenty.
Anthony Taylor has brandished 37 cards (36Y, 1R) in seven appearances this season, including dishing out 11 at the Etihad when Manchester City beat Nottingham Forest.
Throwing Bobby De Cordova-Reid and Richarlison to be shown a card alongside Skipp provides some interest as the trio have picked up four cards between them in the league this season.
Score prediction: Tottenham 2-2 Fulham (Sky Bet odds: 12/1)
Team news
The suspended Bissouma is expected to be replaced by Hojbjerg or Skipp, with the former one of six players unavailable for the hosts.
Elsewhere, Brennan Johnson, Son Heung-min and Cristian Romero are 50/50, the latter two after picking up injuries on international duty.
As for the visitors, Marco Silva will be forced to shuffle his deck as Calvin Bassey is expected to replace the injured Issa Diop in the heart of the Cottagers' defence.
Up front, Carlos Vinicius is expected to be flanked by Willian and De Cordova-Reid.
Predicted line-ups
Tottenham: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Skipp; Kulusevski, Maddison, Richarlison; Son Heung-Min
Fulham: Leno; Castagne, Bassey, Ream, Robinson; Iwobi, Palhinha, Pereira; De Cordova-Reid, Vinicius, Willian
Match facts
- Tottenham have won 13 of their last 15 Premier League games against Fulham, with the exceptions both coming in home games (0-1 in March 2013, 1-1 in January 2021).
- Fulham haven't scored more than once in any of their last 17 Premier League games against Tottenham (nine goals in total), since a 2-1 win in November 2008.
- Tottenham have lost just one of their last 16 Premier League games played on a Monday (W11 D4), a 1-0 home defeat to Manchester City in October 2018.
- Fulham are without a win in their last 10 Premier League London derbies (D4 L6), including all four this season so far (D2 L2). The Cottagers have enjoyed just one win in their last 21 away games against fellow London clubs in the competition (D6 L14), a 3-0 victory at Crystal Palace in December 2022.
- Tottenham have earned 20 points from their eight Premier League games under Ange Postecoglou (W6 D2 L0); a win over Fulham would see Postecoglou break the record for most points gained by a manager in their first nine Premier League matches (23), a record currently jointly held by Mike Walker and Guus Hiddink (both 22).
- While Fulham have the oldest average starting XI age in the Premier League this season (29 years, 183 days), Tottenham have the third-youngest (24y 345d). Indeed, each of the six oldest starting XIs named for a Premier League match by any side this season have all been by Fulham.
- Tottenham have attempted 153 shots in the Premier League this season, 20 more than any other side. They are averaging 19.1 shots per game, their most on record (from1997-98) in any Premier League campaign (full season record of 18.4 per game in 2011-12).
- Tottenham have scored three goals in the 90th minute or later in their last two Premier League home games, winning both matches thanks to added-time winners. There have been just six occasions of a side netting in the 90th minute (or later) in three consecutive Premier League home games (most recently Leicester in January 2018), while no side has ever had three consecutive such matches won via a 90th minute goal before.
Odds correct at 1530 BST (20/10/23)
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