Silva absence means Townsend will shoot more than Aguero at Etihad

There is nothing Andros Townsend likes to do more on the football pitch than burst down the right wing, cut inside on his favoured left foot and then have a shot at goal.

Townsend averages 4.5 shots at goal for Tottenham this season, which is two more than any of his teammates, except Paulinho.

And given that chances are likely to be at a premium when Tottenham travel to Manchester City, there may be a bigger need than normal for the 22-year-old to fire in some speculative efforts from distance, especially if the hosts have Joe Hart in goal.

Townsend tends to shoot even more when Tottenham are on their travels and it is an enticing 4/1 that he shoots more than anybody else in the trip to Man City.

It is Sergio Aguero that heads the market at 2/1 and this is fair enough, given he has fired in 31 shots in his team’s last five games.

However, he has been shooting less in previous weeks, with one argument being that this is due to him taking on more of a creative role in the team behind Alvaro Negredo, to compensate for David Silva’s absence through injury.

Aguero currently averages 3.7 shots per game for Man City this season, with this increasing marginally to 3.8 at the Etihad, which is understandable as the team are generally more dominating.

For those wanting to play at bigger prices, Aleksandar Kolarov is by no means a certain starter, but there are fewer attacking full-backs in the Premier League and he will need no invitation to surge forward.

Kolarov is 12/1 to have the most shots in the Etihad showdown, while Paulinho is 8/1 and is the most likely of Tottenham’s raft of midfielders to attempt to break beyond the lone striker.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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