Here are your betting guide and tips for the Premier League London derby between Chelsea and Tottenham.
The vibes around Stamford Bridge are unimaginably low at the moment. The team has been struggling for months on end, with only two wins in its previous 14 matches and six goals scored during that period. Off the pitch, things are even worse. The Chelsea fan base continues to embarrass itself at every turn in the form of a toxic online presence, with death threats even being sent to Graham Potter and his family. This behavior from so-called “supporters” is unacceptable, regardless of how anyone feels about the Blues’ current gaffer, and needs to stop immediately. Last weekend’s loss to Southampton was obviously extremely disappointing, but spewing hatred on social media won’t improve the situation at all. I don’t normally comment on the behavior of other fans, but the past few days’ events have been nothing short of disturbing. We need to do better.
With that off my chest, I’ll try to remain positive and focus on gambling for the remainder of this article. Chelsea’s next opponent, Tottenham Hotspur, has been very impressive for most of the Premier League season and currently sits fourth on the table. Sunday’s contest will be a massive test for the struggling Blues, but I have a sneaking suspicion they can walk away victorious. This matchup’s recent scorelines support my theory as well, as the pride of London has won nine of the previous 12 iterations.
I’ll probably stay away from betting on the final result this weekend, but my picks might lean more toward the west London side than they have in quite a while. If there was ever a time to turn the campaign around, this would be it. The first play I have my eye on has been one of the more consistent winners in recent months; under 2.5 total goals to be scored in the match.
The odds come in at -128 for this weekend’s derby, which are pretty solid considering how dependable the bet has been during the Blues‘ atrocious run of form. The under has hit in each of Chelsea’s last six games and three of Spurs’ last five, which makes me pretty confident that we’ll see a low-scoring clash on Sunday. These are two of the EPL’s stingiest defenses on the season, with both sides allowing 1.5 goals per match or fewer in 2022/23. Potter also can’t underestimate his opponent this time around, so I expect Benoit Badiashile and Thiago Silva to return to the starting XI. This center back pairing has kept a clean sheet in all but one of its appearances together, which makes me like the Blues’ chances of keeping Tottenham off the board entirely.
A second bet I’ve been monitoring ahead of the derby is draw on the halftime result prop at +100 odds. CFC has been tied after 45’ in five of its previous six matches and would have been in all six if James Ward-Prowse didn’t fire a tremendous free kick into the back of the net right before the interval last weekend. Additionally, Spurs have been held scoreless in the first half of three of their past five contests, so I have a feeling the jumbotron will read 0-0 at halftime on Sunday. It’s never fun rooting for snoozers, but this strategy has been extremely profitable during Potter’s time at the helm. I’m riding the trend until I see different results.
Official odds (via FanDuel as of February 24)
Chelsea ML: +190
Tottenham ML: +150
Draw: +220
Over/Under: 2.5 (+104/-128)
My Chelsea picks:
It was nice to hit more than one bet for the first time in a month last weekend against Southampton, so let’s try to continue going at least two-for-three in the Tottenham match. I’m very confident in my first two picks, both of which were mentioned previously in this article; under 2.5 total goals at -128 odds and draw on the halftime result prop at +100. A final play I like is over 10.5 total corner kicks at +114.
Both sides reside in the top half of the EPL in terms of corner kicks taken, with the Blues averaging 5.6 per match and Spurs averaging 5.8, so the stats support my hypothesis that we’ll see a number of dead ball opportunities during the derby. Perhaps Chelsea can convert one into a goal to finally take all three points and halt the team’s horrendous skid. Odds are subject to change at any time.