Sports Blog 28/01/2015: Match Preview – Sheffield United vs Tottenham, Wednesday 28th January 2015

A tight 1-0 win over Liverpool in extra time last night saw Chelsea progress to the final of the League Cup; both Sheffield United and Tottenham will be hoping to join the Blues as they battle it out this evening.

The first leg ended 1-0 to Spurs, but this slight deficit will not faze the Blades side, that has only lost 3 cup games under Nigel Clough’s tenure and have already defeated West Ham, QPR and Southampton this season.

Much like Chelsea, Tottenham suffered an embarrassing defeat at the weekend that saw them crash out of the FA Cup. Whilst Leicester, unlike Bradford, are Premier League competition, they are sitting at the bottom of the pile, and Mauricio Pochettino will now be desperate to at least get to the final of one of the two cups Spurs still have a chance of winning. Yet Spurs have not kept a clean sheet in 11 away games and with only a narrow lead from the first leg this defensive weakness when outside the confines of White Hart Lane could be their downfall.



Sheffield United, on the other hand, are still clinging on to their place in the League Cup’s bigger brother after a draw against Preston on Saturday, and after winning 5 out of their last 6 home League Cup games against higher division sides, Nigel Clough’s men won’t be intimidated by the visiting Spurs.

After resting at the weekend Pochettino is expected to bring Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane back into the fold; much like with Chelsea’s absences at the weekend, the thinking behind dropping these star players against perceived lesser sides cost the Blues and Tottenham alike. Kane, on 16 goals is at 17/4 fixed odds betting to score first, whilst Christian Eriksen on 8 goals is at 15/2. A niggling injury might rule out Nacer Chadli, but with 9 goals he is still 8/1 to score first. For the Blades, Marc McNulty on 10 goals is at 13/2, the same odds as Michael Higdon with only 5 to his name; Jamal Campbell-Ryce is on 6 goals at 12/1 and Jose Baxter with 5 goals is at 9/1.

Sheffield United have some serious form against top flight competition, and will not be cowed by Tottenham Hotspurs’ stars; however, with no away goals to their name, and already down by 1 from the first leg, the Blades remain the underdogs on a Tottenham/Sheffield United (h) Goal Supremacy spread betting quote of 0.5-0.7, with a Total Goals quote of 2.5-2.7.