Tottenham v Sheffield United: Back Bale to be sharp against blunt Blades

Tottenham v Sheffield United: Back Bale to be sharp against blunt Blades

Tottenham have the perfect chance to get over their cup final disappointment against relegated Sheffield United, with Paul Higham expecting Gareth Bale to star...

Spurs still somehow in Euro hunt

The change of manager didn't really work for Tottenham in the Carabao Cup final did it? As they went out with a whimper against Man City without really laying a glove on the winners despite keeping it scoreless for so long.

It wasn't really what Ryan Mason was talking about in the run-up to the game, and now the young coach needs to try and blow away that doom and gloom with Spurs, somehow, still in the hunt for a Champions League place.

It's a distant hope, and the Europa League is more likely the best they can do, but they're still in there and now they face relegated Sheffield United in what should be the perfect fixture.

Spurs should be putting a Blades team with just one away win and one away draw in the league all season to the sword, but after the cup final defeat and a last-minute penalty needed to beat Southampton there's hardly a lot of confidence in their squad right now.

Shackles off the relegated Blades?

Saying the shackles have come off following relegation doesn't really resonate too much with a Sheffield United team that just managed to sneak a 1-0 win over Brighton last time out. The Seagulls should have won that game.

It was a first win in seven attempts though and at least something to cheer for Paul Heckingbottom's side - who have lost seven on the spin away from home.

The Blades have regularly been well in games but scoring just 18 goals all season - seven away from home - is a hopeless return that was only ever going to get them relegated.

16 of their 26 Premier League losses have been by just a single goal including 10 games ending in 1-0 defeats - it doesn't take a lot to beat this team heading back down to the Championship.

Spurs will score - and one may be enough

The hosts are massive 1.25 favourites with Sheffield United rightly 12 for victory - given they've won just four points on their travels all season. The draw is 6.0.

Tottenham are unbeaten at home against the sides in the bottom 12 in the division in nine games, and have scored more than once in seven of those outings. Spurs have also scored in their last 10 Premier League games, which is the current longest run.

With the Blades so bad at finding the net they've lost 17 games to nil this season, a remarkable achievement and one that makes Spurs to win this game to nil at 2.0 look a touch generous - Spurs have had 11 home clean sheets in all competitions this season.

With United conceding over 2.5 goals a game in their six away trips to the current top eight and still waiting for a clean sheet, it all points to another difficult afternoon for the Yorkshire side.

There'll be no real confidence even if they get to half-time level (which is 2.5) with the Blades conceding a league-high 32 second half goals this season.

The 2.1 on the second half having most goals looks an attractive proposition while 2.8 on Spurs to win both halves is also worth consideration.

Back Bale to have his shooting boots on

Harry Kane looked off the pace at Wembley but he usually feasts on the lower sides, scoring four in his five games against the bottom three, but this could be a good game for Gareth Bale - who hasn't been seen as much as Spurs fans would have liked this term.

The teams Bale has scored against this campaign tell the story - Brighton, LASK, Stoke, Wycombe, Wolfsberger, Burnley, Crystal Palace and Southampton so to see him as short as 1.73 anytime scorer is no surprise.

He's 2.1 to have two shots on target though, which he hasn't done too often this season but when you see the teams he did manage it against - Southampton, Burnley, Wolfsberger and Wycombe then there's a theme that's worth siding with again here.

David McGoldrick has scored seven of Sheffield United's 18 league goals this season, that's the highest ratio in the league, and when you look at the teams he's netted against it's the polar opposite of Bale's scoring record.

He scored in the reverse fixture against Spurs and has also bagged against Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea. He's the best bet for a goal for the visitors at 5.0.