Tottenham v Stevenage: No escape for Boro second time round
Published:Stevenage might have fought valiantly when these sides met at the Lamex Stadium, but their resistance won’t last long at White Hart Lane and a handicap bet on Spurs (-2) at 6/5 is where the value lies.
Tottenham haven’t lost to lower league opposition since they were dumped out of the FA Cup by Leicester in 2006. And with Manchester United, City and Arsenal all out of the running, Spurs are 12/5 favourites to lift the trophy at Wembley come May.
But for now, the north-Londoners are priced 1/5 to book a home tie with Bolton in the last eight.
Admittedly, they’re not in sparkling league form but that should have little bearing on the outcome of this one, particularly as Stevenage find themselves in a similar predicament.
Since the original cup tie just over a fortnight ago, Boro have failed to win any of four league matches, losing two and drawing the others. Hardly the sort of form that suggests they are likely to cause Harry Redknapp’s side any alarm.
The League One side, making their first appearance in the FA Cup’s fifth round, are 12/1 to pull off a famous upset.
Tottenham meanwhile are yet to concede in this season’s competition and Stevenage have failed to score in two of their last three matches on their travels. The Premier League side are 11/10 to win to nil.
Though Jermain Defoe is struggling to nail down a place in Spurs’ league side, the diminutive striker has started all three of their FA Cup ties.
Defoe has eight goals in his last eleven starts in this competition and is 5/2 to add to his consolation strike against Manchester United with the opener in this one.
Elsewhere, Niko Kranjcar will likely be handed a rare start in the heart of Spurs’ midfield and the Croatian is 7/1 to break the deadlock and 2/1 to score at any time during the ninety minutes.
