SPURS are already through to the Europa League knockout stages, but how will they perform against Monaco on Thursday night? Chris Graham (@chrisgraham79) looks at the odds.
Tottenham v Monaco | Thursday 20:05 | BT Sport Europe
Harry Kane’s 78th minute winner against Qarabag two weeks ago has secured Tottenham’s place in the knockout stages of the Europa League so from their perspective this match isn’t of massive importance.
Opponents Monaco can’t afford the luxury of that frame of mind though as they lie in third place in Group J one point behind Anderlecht. Even a victory here may not be enough to see them through as the Belgian side are at home to Qarabag in their final match.
As someone with a soft spot for Spurs I’d like to think they’ll play a skeleton side as they continue their assault on a first Premier League title in half a century.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino seems determined to give this competition a good though. He boldly played a strong side two weeks ago in Azerbaijan against Qarabag with Chelsea waiting for them three days later. He was rewarded with a victory on foreign soil if not in London.
Next up for Spurs is Newcastle on Sunday and if Pochettino does the sensible thing I’m happy to swerve the 11/10 on Spurs. It’s not a tempting price for a side with nothing concrete to play for.
Tottenham lost their last game of the group in last season’s Europa League when qualification was already assured. To be fair that was away to Besiktas and this task looks more straight-forward.
Monaco have seen their campaign derailed by a surprising 2-0 home defeat to Anderlecht two weeks ago. With that still ringing in their ears they need to get something here.
The French side lie 4th in their domestic league and have lost just twice in their last 15 matches. They managed to get a draw against Spurs in their first clash back in October and are capable of making life hard for the London side.
I’ll keep stakes very low on this match and I’ve got better things to do on a Thursday than bet big on this game. From a value point of view the draw sticks out at 13/5.
Spurs will be hoping to avoid going out from this group on a low and they’re more than good enough to hold off a Monaco side eager to pick up points.
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Tottenham v Monaco – Draw (13/5 Bet365)
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TOPICS English Football Tips Europa League Tips European Football Football Premier League Tips
