Tottenham produced an impressive victory over Manchester City on Wednesday night, 24 hours after Blackburn ended their long goalless streak in defeat to Birmingham.

Blackburn Rovers

5 games without a win now, with Ryan Nelson’s late goal at St Andrews on Tuesday being the only goal they have scored during that time. Their form looks bleak, but they still sit 12th in the table However 3 points separates them and Wolves in the relegation zone, so they need to get back to winning ways quickly to avoid any additional stress on manager Sam Allardyce. They have fixtures with several teams nearby in the standings after this game which make more realistic to attain points from. Tottenham haven’t won here since 2004, which was also in December, coincidently. Benni McCarthy and Andre Ooijer scored late goals to turn a 1-0 deficit into victory as they rose to safety towards the end of the season. David Dunn’s calf strain is keeping him out longer than originally expected which has lead to a lack of creativity in midfield. Morten Gamst Pederson still takes a good set piece which will come in use against a Spurs defence who haven’t dealt well with set pieces this season. Holding out Spurs attacking is going to be their main concern. They aren’t going to be able to cope with Aaron Lennon and probably not Jermain Defoe either. Chris Samba and Ryan Nelson should feel comfortable in dealing with Peter Crouch, and with Brett Emerton on the right they may be able to prevent Niko Kranjcar cutting in from the left and causing problems. The centre of the park will be a different story though.

Form
LDDDL

Injuries/Suspensions
Steven Reid

Tottenham Hotspur

I wasn’t overly confident with Tottenham coming into their game with Manchester City on Wednesday night. But their opposition were lacklustre and I knew Mark Hughes was taking a huge gamble by starting Robinho. They didn’t turn up on the night and Spurs took advantage of that. Aaron Lennon was hugely impressive against a wing back in Sylvinho who was making his 2nd Premier League start in over 8 years. Jermain Defoe continued his excellent scoring record against City too after a mispositioned Kolo Toure didn’t deal with a cross. Tottenham have a lot of quality midfielders that can open this Blackburn midfield and defence up including the returning Luka Modric. With Wilson Palacios and Tom Huddlestone they can match up to the physical game Blackburn play, with both Peter Crouch and Robbie Keane capable of winning free kicks. Blackburn will make this difficult for Spurs, who themselves have only won 1 of their last 4, but Rovers are there for the taking if Tottenham want to continue their push for a top 4 spot.

Form
WDDLW

Injuries/Suspensions
Ledley King
Jonathan Woodgate
Carlo Cudicini

I wouldn’t be surprised if Tottenham disappoint here after their success midweek. That game must have given them a big confidence boost ahead of this game with a Blackburn side who are in need of one. Spurs will need to deal with set pieces as that’s Blackburn’s biggest threat. I see Aaron Lennon and Jermain Defoe being involved in the goals here and I think they can be the match winners on the day. There’s value on Spurs at the moment and they won’t look as attractive if they become odds-on.

Best bet: Tottenham to win 5/4