HUDDERSFIELD TOWN V TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR: TOOTHLESS TERRIERS TO SUFFER AGAIN

Huddersfield Town v Tottenham Hotspur
Saturday 29 September, 15:00

Terriers' lack of bite a persistent problem

Second season syndrome may well have struck in west Yorkshire, with David Wagner's Huddersfield Town failing to win any of their first six matches of this Premier League campaign.

The rot started to set in during the second half of last season, as the Terriers won just one of their last ten league matches. In 2018, Huddersfield have claimed just 15 points from 22 games.

Last weekend's defeat at Leicester City infuriated Wagner, as the Terriers took an early lead through Mathias Jorgensen, but then committed pretty much everyone forward at a set piece, only to be undone on the counter in the style of an Under-7's game. From then on, Leicester stormed to a 3-1 win.

Huddersfield can't afford such basic mistakes, as their lack of punch in front of goal means they have little margin for error. Opta tell us they have drawn a blank in 24 of their last 44 Premier League matches, and this season they have scored just three goals in six top-flight games. They haven't scored more than once in a Premier League match since February.

Spurs learning to win ugly

When the top teams aren't quite at their best, they often still manage to win, and that's what Tottenham have done in the last few days. They weren't on top form at Brighton in the league, but held on for a precious 2-1 victory, and having been involved in a chaotic finaleagainst Watford in the Carabao Cup, they went through on penalties.

Another thing that top teams do is juggle multiple competitions effectively, and Tottenham must continue to do that in the next week. They soon face Barcelona at Wembley in a monumental Champions League clash (Spurs lost at Inter Milan on MD1), but first they must keep their Premier League season on track with a positive result at Huddersfield.

There is some encouragement to be taken from Spurs' away form. They have won three of their four road matches in the Premier League this season, and if you stretch back a bit further they have won seven of the last ten top-flight games away from Wembley/White Hart Lane/MK Stadium/Moon Base Alpha.

Terriers' bark to be silenced again

Given Huddersfield's problems this season in both attack and defence, it's hard to see them laying a glove on Tottenham here. Spurs have had an extra game to deal with this week, but some key players were rested.

Harry Kane wasn't even on the bench in Milton Keynes, and nor were Christian Eriksen, Jan Vertonghen or Kieran Trippier.

Spurs beat Huddersfield home and away last term, scoring six goals and conceding none. Given that the north London side is trading at 1.48 in the Match Odds market, let's boost those odds by backing Spurs -1.5 on the Asian Handicap at 2.16. That bet would have landed in both of these teams' league meetings last season.

Over/under bet depends on hosts' approach

Huddersfield are really struggling to make an impression on Premier League defences, and you have to bear that in mind when judging whether to back Over 2.5 Goals at 1.83. All eight of Spurs' games in all competitions have featured at least three goals, so it's an enticing wager to make, but just consider that half of Huddersfield's six league games this term have stayed under the 2.5 goals line.

Refreshed Eriksen could make his mark

Christian Eriksen hasn't scored in the league this season, but he netted twice for Denmark in the recent Nations League game against Wales, and he grabbed the opener against Inter in the Champions League. He's rarely quiet for long, and last season's tally of ten Premier League goals underlines that.

At 13/5, Eriksen is worth considering in the To Score market on the Sportsbook.

If you want to build your own acca with the Same Game Multi, you could back Spurs to win, No in the Both Teams to Score market and Christian Eriksen to score at combined odds of [7.85].

RECOMMENDED BETS

Back Tottenham -1.5 on the Asian Handicap v Huddersfield at 2.16