Ghent v Tottenham: Spurs in for low-scoring affair in Belgium
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Tottenham will look to shake off defeat to Liverpool last weekend, when they head to Ghent for the first-leg of their Europa League last-32 clash, but don’t expect a high-scoring classic.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men are 4/5 favourites for victory at the Ghelamco Arena, with the hosts priced up at 7/2 and a draw appealing at 5/2.
Spurs will be confident of picking up something here, with the hosts failing to win three of their last five on home soil.
And the Belgian outfit weren’t exactly grabbing headlines in the group stage, winning just two games in a mediocre foursome containing Sporting Braga, Konyaspor and Shakhtar Donetsk.
The smart money here though should be on under 2.5 goals at 4/5.
Each of Ghent’s last six and 11 of their last 13 fixtures have seen two or fewer goals scored, while the same applies for each of Tottenham’s last three.
And the Londoners’ three away games in this season’s Champions League totalled just four goals.
Plus, the hosts have already kept 11 clean sheets on home soil this season.
Add in the fact that Tottenham’s away record this season is actually rather terrible – two wins in 13 – and a 0-0 or 1-1 draw looks quite appealing.
The latter is 9/2, while a stalemate is 9/1. A Draw/Draw on the Half-time/Full-time market should also be considered at 4s.
Harry Kane is on 16 for the season in all competitions, and the England international leads the first goalscorer charge at 3/1.
Dele Alli is also into double figures for the campaign, and despite failing to score in his last three appearances is sure to be well-backed at 5/1 to break the deadlock.
Jeremy Perbet and Kalifa Coulibaly are the hosts’ best hopes of the opening goal at 15/2, but with five different scorers in the group stages, Ghent have plenty of options.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
