EPL Odds: Spurs Seek Easy Points Vs Sunderland

Sunderland (+950) vs. Tottenham (-250), Draw (+420)

Tottenham (13-7-2, 46 points) will travel to the Stadium of Light on Tuesday, January 31st to take on last-place Sunderland (4-3-15, 15 points) for the 23rd fixture of the English Premier League.

The Spurs are currently nine points below leaders Chelsea, and if they’re going to close the gap, this is one of the games they need to win. An opportunity to snatch three points against the worst-performing team in the league comes only a few times each season and Tottenham will be devastated if they don’t take full advantage of it.

That shouldn’t be too tough of a challenge, though. Tottenham are unbeaten in their last seven games, winning six and drawing only to Manchester City. Their streak includes a 2-0 win over Chelsea, ending the Blue’s 14-game winning streak. Of the teams chasing Chelsea, Tottenham are definitely the most consistent.

One reason for this is that they’re not overly reliant on any one player. With an attack comprising of Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Son Heung-min, and Christian Eriksen, a bad game or injury to any one player doesn’t impact the Spurs like it would most other teams. Their depth in attack is something very few teams have.

Sunderland are winless in their last five league games and have only won a total of four matches this season. To make matters worse, they risk losing their star striker, Jermain Defoe, to West Ham in the January transfer window. Losing Defoe would completely gut Sunderland’s attack. Of the measly 20 goals Sunderland have scored this season, 12 have come from Defoe.

With luck on their side, Tottenham ends up just three points from the top in a couple week’s time. Chelsea have two tough games ahead of them, facing Liverpool in the coming round and Arsenal in the next. All the Spurs need to do is win their next two games (the next fixture is against 16th-place Middlesbrough) and pray.

Given how Tottenham are playing at the moment, it’s hard to pick against them when they’re facing a team like Sunderland. Their odds may only payoff at -250, but if anything, that seems generous. Tottenham are on a great run at the moment and I don’t see that ending anytime soon.

Pick: Tottenham (-250)

Photo credit: “Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen” by Ben Sutherland, CC BY-SA 2.0 [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0], via Flickr.