Tottenham approach their double gameweek on the back of a controversial Stamford Bridge defeat last weekend but, dodgy decisions aside, have not been in the best of form of late, with just one win in the last eight league games.
For months, Harry Redknapp’s side had been vying with Man City for the all-important fourth spot that would offer the chance of Champions League football next term, but now find themselves in sixth place, overtaken by a resurgent Liverpool. Level on points with Kenny Dalglish’s men, Spurs do have a game in hand and gaining those points will be vital, considering their gameweek 37 fixture is a trip to Anfield.
Prospects
First up in the double gameweek is a home game with Blackpool this weekend and a chance to avenge the 3-1 defeat at Bloomfield Road back in February. Spurs have drawn as many games as they’ve won at home this season but have scored 8 in their last three at White Hart Lane and will surely be too much for a Blackpool side that have collected one point and conceded 18 goals in their last six trips on the road.
The second game is a tricky fixture; a trip to Eastlands, where Man City have won seven of their last eight games. Roberto Mancini’s side have also clocked up ten of their fifteen clean sheets this season at home. Spurs have failed to score on the road just once since October, however, and, knowing a win would really open up the race for fourth spot again, can’t afford to sit back and be too cautious.
Likely Lads
Clean sheets and Tottenham tend not to go hand in hand and with the side conceding 2 or more goals in six of their last eight league fixtures, it’s more than a leap of faith to suggest their defensive options offer much hope of decent returns.
Instead, it’s a couple of midfielders that seem the best bet. Rafael Van der Vaart has come back into form of late, picking up 25 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) points in his last three games. With spot-kick duties factored in, it’s no surprise to see him leading our current Captain’s Poll.
He may have just 2 goals and 2 assists to his name thus far, but Luka Modric is second only to Charlie Adam in Bonus Points this season- his total of 31 is just one point shy of equalling Van der Vaart and Gareth Bale’s combined tally. Modric has been awarded Bonus in 14 of his 28 appearances- a sign of his consistency of performance.
Cheeky Punts
Gareth Bale’s recent form suggests he’d be no more than a punt for this week; his highest score in his last nine appearances has been 3 points, he has 1 goal and 1 Bonus Point in 2011 and has not assisted a Tottenham goal since gameweek 16. The chance of him tearing Blackpool apart will see much Fantasy Investment this week but with hamstring injuries to Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Vedran Corluka, there’s a possibility he could be fielded at left-back.
A look at the Tottenham forwards suggests Roman Pavlyuchenko seems the most likely bet here; the Russian is the only attacker with any guaranteed game time right now. Pavlyuchenko has started eight of Spurs’ last nine games, scoring three times in that run of fixtures, whereas Peter Crouch and Jermaine Defoe have managed eight starts between them, an indication of Redknapp’s current selection policy.
