Tottenham v Bournemouth: Son can maintain scoring run on Boxing Day

Tottenham Hotspur v Bournemouth
Boxing Day, 15:00

Did Santa bring Spurs a title bid?

For much of the season, Spurs have been gritty and dogged, grinding out points even with key men struggling for fitness, stadium worries lingering and, latterly, managerial speculation. But at the weekend, against Everton, they let it all hang out: their 6-2 win at Goodison Park was the perfect Christmas present to all of their fans and should set them up for a profitable festive period.

The players will no doubt be pleased that both of their next fixtures are at home, and with Premier League leaders Liverpool facing some tough games (Arsenal and Man City in their next three), opportunity is knocking. String a run of wins together now and there could be momentum for a proper title run - although they'll probably have to start it without Dele Alli after he was taken off early on Sunday.

Cherries buoyed by overdue win

After a run of six defeats in seven, and with two tricky away games on the horizon (they face a rejuvenated Manchester United on Sunday), Bournemouth knew that anything less than a win against Brighton would threaten to drown out the seasonal goodwill. And while they weren't quite at their effervescent best - not for the first time recently - they did manage to get the job done.

That victory owed much to David Brooks, who continues to go from strength to strength in the top flight. Eddie Howe doesn't have the deepest squad, but what he does have is a core of players he really trusts, regardless of age. The return of Ryan Fraser to the starting XI will be a further boost on Boxing Day, with Junior Stanislas the man most likely to make way.

More capital punishment for Bournemouth?

Tottenham's performance against Everton sent shockwaves through the division, and it's no great surprise that they are short favourites at 1.37. If Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane are in the mood again, it's hard to see them being repelled by a middling defence.

The recent head-to-head doesn't look good for the Cherries, either: five of the six Premier League meetings have gone Tottenham's way (the other was a draw), with the aggregate score 17-2. With Bournemouth having been beaten by a decent margin by Liverpool (4-0), Man City (3-1) and Wolves (2-0) in recent weeks, Spurs -1.5 could be value at 1.96.

Son the one

Rotation is always a factor over the festive period, but it seems unlikely that Mauricio Pochettino will take Heung-Min Son out of the firing line here. The South Korean will jet off to play in the Asian Cup in January, so Spurs will likely try to squeeze as much goodness as they can from him before then - especially if Alli is ruled out here.

His form in recent games makes him a good pick in the goalscorer markets. He is 2.52 to notch anytime, as he has in three of Tottenham's last four league outings.

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Back Heung-Min Son to score at 2.52