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Tottenham can reach Europa League final in sunny Spain despite defeat to Bodo/Glimt in the Arctic Circle
@Source: metro.co.uk
Dejan Kulusevski can turn up trumps for Spurs against Bodo/Glimt (Picture: Getty Images)
Tottenham’s season is on a precarious knife edge as they head to the Arctic Circle bidding to book their trip to sunny Bilbao later this month for the Europa League final.
Ange Postecoglou’s Premier League underachievers take a 3-1 lead into the semi-final, second leg, which will be played on the artificial surface at the Aspmyra Stadion in front of less than 500 supporters from north London, and Spurs have been absolutely shocking on their travels this term.
They have won just twice away from N17 in their last ten matches in all competitions – losing seven – but tellingly one of those victories was the 1-0 quarter-final success in Frankfurt which kept them on track to win their first silverware since their League Cup triumph 17 years ago.
Their hosts, Bodo/Glimt have chiselled out a reputation for being formidable opponents on home plastic and have scored 15 goals in their last five matches in front of their own fans in Europe.
That would be enough to overturn their first-leg deficit and send them to a sensational success while pouring further misery on Tottenham fans who will be fretting over the return of their club’s injury crisis with key midfielders James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall both ruled out.
However, while they have kept just one clean sheet in their last 15 matches in all competitions – again, at Frankfurt – Tottenham usually find a way to score and have done so in each of their last eight outings.
The absence of injured midfielder James Maddison in Norway is a big blow for Tottenham (Picture: Getty Images)
Despite the injuries, there are enough quality players in the Tottenham ranks to ensure they ease into the final against either Athletic Bilbao or, almost certainly, Manchester United and while Bodo/Glimt are worth siding with to triumph on the night at 7/4 with Sky Bet, Spurs are no better than 1/10 with William Hill and others to qualify and a 2-1 defeat, which would see them go through, is 9/1 with multiple firms.
Dejan Kulusevski has not hit the highs he was enjoying before being sidelined through injury but he can smash in that all-important goal to ease Tottenham nerves at 7/2 with Paddy Power and Betfred.
United, 3-0 up after the first leg in Spain, have also been largely dismal in the league this season but they can also afford to lose and reach the final.
Bilbao, who had a player sent off early in the first leg and are beset by injuries, are 13/5 with Paddy Power, Bet Victor and Betfair to win on the night and 12/1 with bet365 to win 2-1.
• Sheffield United are 9/5 with Paddy Power and Betfair to win the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final with Bristol City at Ashton Gate.
• Cries of ‘fore’ rather than ‘four’ will be heard around the Philadelphia Cricket Club this week as the PGA Tour’s Truist Champions takes place on its Wissahickon Golf Course – standing in for Quail Hollow as it prepares to host next week’s PGA Championship major.
Defending champion Rory McIlroy will still be buzzing after his Masters success at Augusta and is 5/1 with BetMGM and Unibet to retain his crown while Corey Conners, Sam Burns and Aaron Rai are our respective each-way bets at 25/1, 40/1 and 45/1 with Ladbrokes and Coral.
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