The least surprising piece of football news was confirmed earlier this week. After 16 months in charge of Tottenham Hotspur, Antonio Conte has gone, leaving the club to search for yet another permanent manager.
Conte’s fate was effectively sealed following his comments after the Southampton game. In fact, many were surprised that he didn’t go sooner. We tend to subscribe to the conspiracy theory claiming that the announcement was delayed so as not to take the focus off Harry Kane as he broke the national scoring record.
Anyway, here we are again. The caretaker manager is no stranger to Tottenham fans. The amiable Cristian Stellini took charge during Conte’s absence and he produced some decent results. His next task is to come back from Goodison Park with three points on Monday night.
Team News
The big news involving the squad concerns full back Emerson Royal. He was injured while on international duty and subsequent surgery means that he may be out for around six weeks. It could cause Emerson to miss the rest of the season, along with another long term absentee, Rodrigo Bentancur.
Actually there are quite a few new updates from the previous game at Southampton, with some players coming back with issues, while others skipped the internationals altogether.
Because Spurs are playing the final game of the weekend, we’re short of confirmed updates right now. We know that Hugo Lloris and Ryan Sessegnon were tentatively pencilled in for a return on Monday, but there is no definite news on this at the time of writing.
For Yves Bissouma, injury reports are still suggesting that he’ll be back a week later. There are three new names to throw into the hat. Richarlison and Ivan Perisic are expected to be available after minor knocks, but Ben Davies is ruled out until the end of the month with a hamstring strain.
Match Odds
Everton’s league position means that Spurs will start this game as favourites, but there are odds against figures on all three possible outcomes.
The away win is available at 6/5 with Coral and Quinnbet while the draw is the next option at best odds of 27/11 with VBet. Those looking to back Everton in this market can find a top price of 5/2 with Unibet.
The Toffees have climbed out of the relegation zone since Sean Dyche took over from Frank Lampard, and the home side started this weekend in 15th place. The form guide shows that Everton have claimed eight points in their last six games.
Spurs are faring slightly better with ten points from the previous six matches. Our away form is much weaker, however, and disappointing results at Wolves and Southampton should give our opponents some confidence.
Sean Dyche
Side Markets
Harry Kane appears to have returned unscathed from an international break where he became England’s highest goal scorer of all time. Harry will start as the favourite to open the scoring at best odds of 19/5 with Unibet while Son Heung-Min is quoted at 7/1 with Betway. In between those two players, Dominic Calvert-Lewin is the first name for Everton at 13/2 with 888Sport.
Other options for Spurs backers include Richarlison at 8/1 with Ladbrokes, Lucas Moura at 10/1 with 888Sport, Dejan Kulusevski at 10/1 with 888Sport, Ivan Perisic at 20/1 with Coral and Eric Dier at 40/1 with VBet.
Moving on with our regular set of side bets, Both Teams to Score is quoted for Monday night at best odds of 19/20 with Unibet. Those looking to take the ‘no’ option on BTTS can claim 10/11 with BetFred and 888Sport.
Next is Total Goals where a stake Over the 2.5 line will currently be met at 11/10 with Coral and Quinnbet. By taking this up a notch, we can claim odds of 35/12 with Vbet to go Over the 3.5 line.
Those who are expecting a dull and uneventful 90 minutes at Goodison Park can get a top price of 3/4 with Vbet to go Under the 2.5 line.
Lastly, we’ll take our regular look at some Correct Score options. The match market suggests a narrow away victory and, if you agree, the 2-1 away win is available at 8/1 with Coral and Betway. The same scoreline in favour of Everton can be found at 11/1 with VBet and 888Sport, while the 1-1 draw is quoted at 11/2 with BetFred and Quinnbet.
Last Season
In an ironic twist of fate that the live broadcaster will doubtless pick up on ahead of the game, last season’s corresponding fixture at Goodison Park was also Antonio Conte’s first match in charge. That’s about the only memorable aspect from last year, as the sides ended goalless.
Mason Holgate was sent off for the Toffees in second half injury time, but that still isn’t jogging our memory. Conte’s bow is really all we can remember about this encounter. Apparently there was also an Everton penalty which was turned down after a VAR review.
It could well be another scrappy 90 minutes on Monday night, but let’s hope this one sticks in the memory for the right reasons.
Verdict
As we all know, changing a manager can have one of two effects: The players, who were lambasted by Conte two weeks ago, may just respond in order to prove a point. Alternatively, it could all be a bit subdued.
We don’t suspect that there will be too much entertainment. Spurs may need time to shake off their former manager’s negative tactics, while Everton are unlikely to leave themselves too open as they continue to battle relegation.
For that reason, we’ll kick things off with a stake Under the 2.5 goal line. Hopefully it won’t be as bad as last season’s 0-0 and that we can edge a low scoring contest. Who will get on the scoresheet for Spurs? Son Heung-Min said this week that he should have been playing better this season and he’s probably right.
Sonny scored both of his team’s goals in the 2-2 draw with Colombia last Friday, so let’s hope he can carry that form into this game.
Best Bets
- Under 2.5 Goals at 3/4 with VBet
- Son Heung-Min to Score at Any Time in 90 Minutes at 14/5 with Ladbrokes