Wolves v Tottenham tips: Premier League best bets and preview
Liam Kelly previews Tottenham's trip to face the Wolves at Molineux, angling his best bet on Adama Traoré's role in Bruno Lage's plans.
Football betting tips: Premier League
1pt Adama Traoré to have 2+ shots on target at 4/1 (Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook)
An intriguing match-up in the early parts of the Premier League season, with Nuno Espirito Santo visiting his old club almost immediately, leading Tottenham out at Molineux on Sunday.
Bruno Lage is his replacement at Wolves, bringing with him an expectation of more attack-minded methods, an approach which the Old Gold were severely lacking last season.
They scored just 36 goals from 44.4 expected goals (xG) in 2020/21, underperforming what were already poor metrics under Nuno. Wolves fans demand more.
Lage, of course, will be tasked with that, but you could be forgiven for thinking Wolves looked a lot like they did under Nuno last time out, playing a 3-4-3 in a 1-0 defeat at Leicester in their season opener.
However, Wolves deserved a bit more from the game based on underlying numbers, missing chances equating to 1.66 xG while limiting Leicester to just 0.55 xG, and there were glimpses of interesting attacking methods in that match.
In particular, the use of Adama Traoré.
The Spain international attempted more shots than he had previously in any single Premier League game (6) from an inside left position, seemingly profiting from the small shift in role.
Admittedly, Traoré failed to score from the chances (0.95 xG), but Lage acknowledged post-match that he wants his winger to attack the half-spaces, and that his end product - which is often unfairly criticised - will be a point of emphasis this season.
That makes him an attractive proposition in the shot markets. Although it may be a slight risk to add the need for an attempt to be on target, the 4/1 available for ADAMA TRAORE TO HAVE 2+ SHOTS ON TARGET against Spurs represents good value.
Traoré is a huge threat given his frightening pace and dribbling skills, and I'm willing to chance that he can hit the target at least a couple of times if carving out shooting opportunities at a similar rate.
Despite recording an unexpected 1-0 win, Tottenham allowed 18 shots totalling 2.41 xG against Manchester City last Sunday. Perhaps the clean sheet has masked an average defensive performance.
Couple that with a deflating result in the Europa Conference League qualifiers, losing 1-0 to Paços de Ferreira on Thursday, and Wolves will fancy their chances of causing Spurs problems.
Wolves v Tottenham best bets and score prediction
- 1pt Adama Traoré to have 2+ shots on target at 4/1 (Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook)
Score prediction: Wolves 2-1 Tottenham (Sky Bet odds: 9/1)
Odds correct at 1400 BST (20/08/21)
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