Prediction and odds: Preston (8/1) vs Tottenham (1/3)

We’re backing Tottenham/Tottenham (HT/FT) at 10/11

When: Saturday, 28th January 2023 – 6pm KO (GMT)

Where: Deepdale

Preston North End will attempt to spring an old school FA Cup surprise when they host Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth round this weekend.

Preston

For so many years now, Preston North End have been stuck in the Football League without much hope of ever reaching the Premier League. Alas, even through all of the tough times, their fans have stuck by their side through thick and thin. Now, though, away from their play-off push in the Championship, they’ll need to focus their attention on generating a ‘David vs Goliath’ type of atmosphere at Deepdale.

Inconsistency continues to be what harms Preston this season, as is so often the case. They lost back to back games against Huddersfield and West Brom to end 2022, before starting the new year with victories over Stoke and Huddersfield – the latter of which was a rematch in the FA Cup. They then got battered 4-0 by Norwich, before heading to the second city and beating Birmingham 2-1.

Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur aren’t exactly out of the woods just yet, but Antonio Conte is doing his best to slowly restore some confidence to this squad. The club, as a whole, needs a lot of reform from top to bottom, but the focus, for now, is what’s happening on the pitch. They have the players necessary to make a deep run in the FA Cup and if they can get past a hostile evening crowd in Lancashire, they’ll be one step closer.

It’s been a busy start to 2023 for Spurs and they began with a disappointing 2-0 loss at home to Aston Villa. They then beat Crystal Palace 4-0 before just about edging past Portsmouth in the third round of the FA Cup. Even more disappointment followed as they were beaten by Arsenal and Manchester City, but against Fulham, they carved out a 1-0 win to keep their top four hopes alive.

Conclusion

Our expectation for this one is that Tottenham will take their time, absorb some pressure and hit Preston on the counter. They have more quality across the pitch and if they can silence the crowd after 15 or 20 minutes, they’ll be in cruise control.

We believe they’ll head into half time with a narrow lead before building on it in the second, with a few of the big guns featuring to prove a point. They want to showcase how seriosu they are about this competition and even though we do think the hosts will get themselves on the scoresheet, it ultimately won’t matter.

In terms of a scoreline, we’ll go for 3-1 Tottenham with Preston being left to continue their push for a top six finish.

Our tips (all taken from bet365): Tottenham/Tottenham (HT/FT) at 10/11 + over 2.5 goals at 8/13

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