A battle between Top 10 sides Sheffield United and Tottenham is on deck for July 2, 2020, at Bramall Lane. This game will be aired live via NBCSN at 1:00 p.m. EST.
Entering Tuesday’s schedule, Sheffield United sits in 9th place in the EPL table with 44 points but they are fading quickly. The Blades are 8 points adrift of fifth place behind the Wolves and are also five points off 6th place Manchester United. On the other hand, Tottenham is currently in seventh place with 45 points. They are seven points behind Wolverhampton and are four points off Manchester United. With both teams fighting for a European spot, this should be a very interesting affair.
Sheffield has not been in top form since the Premier League restarted. They lost 0-3 to Newcastle United then followed that up with another 0-3 to Manchester United. Then during last weekend’s FA Cup quarterfinals, they played tough against Arsenal only to lose the match 2-1 after Dani Ceballos scored on a counter-attack in the 90+1 minute of the match.
Nicolas Pepe started the scoring for Arsenal as he netted off a penalty in the 25th minute. Sheffield fought hard and David McColdrock scored the game-tying goal in the 87th minute and it looked like the teams were headed to extra time. However, Arsenal forced a turnover that led to Ceballos’ goal in the 90+1 minute that stunned Sheffield.
John Fleck and Lys Mousset each have five goals scored for the Blades while John Lundstram has found the back of the net four times. Mousset also leads the team with a total of four assists on the year while Lundstram has three assists as well. George Baldock has scored two goals and issued three assists for Sheffield United this season.
The Blades rank 3rd in the Premier League in scoring defense with only 31 goals allowed this season. However, they are just 15th overall in scoring and have only netted 30 times this term. Sheffield is also tied for 17th in passing with a total of 18 assists this year. Their goal difference of -1 is 9th overall in England’s top flight.
Tottenham finally won a match as they emerged victorious in their last outing against the struggling West Ham United. The Spurs opened the restart with a 1-1 draw against Manchester United and their win the last time out gave the squad their first taste of victory in six Premier League matches.
In their match against West Ham, the Spurs got back scoring talisman Harry Kane back from injury. He did not disappoint as he scored a goal right away for Tottenham. They controlled 63% of ball possession while getting off 13 shots, including three on target. The Spurs also got 9 corner kicks and with Dele Alli back, they are now in full form and looking to finish the season strong.
Harry Kane leads the Spurs with a total of 12 goals scored this season. Son Heung-Min has added nine goals while Dele Alli has netted eight times for Tottenham. Son Heung-Min leads the team with eight assists while Serge Aurier has five assists and Alli four assists as well.
Tottenham is the 5th best scoring team in the Premier League with a total of 50 goals scored this season. They are tied for 8th in goals allowed with 41 given up this year. They are ranked 5th in passing with a total of 32 assists this season and their +9 goal difference is 7th best overall.
This is the 92nd time that these two sides will be facing each other. Tottenham currently leads their all-time head to head series with a record of 36-27-28. These two teams played to a 1-1 draw during their reverse fixture held in November 2019. The Blades have the 9th worst home record in England at 7-3-5 with a total of 24 points earned from those matches. The Spurs are the 9th worst road club in the English Premier League with a record of 3-6-6 and a total of 15 points earned from those matches.
Sheffield was in contention for a Top 4 finish before the break but they have been in terrible form since the resumption of the season. The Blades have only one point since the restart and they have lost their last three competitive matches after dropping a 2-1 contest to Arsenal in the FA Cup last weekend. They have also just won once in their last five league matches.
Tottenham just snapped out of a seven-match winless run when they beat West Ham 2-0 the last time out. The Spurs are still chasing a Top 5 finish but with the gap starting to grow wide, they need to pick up wins fast. Harry Kane’s return is a boost to Tottenham’s campaign. The scoring talisman should help their offense produce more goals. The Spurs only have one win in their last six Premier League games with three draws during that period.
Tottenham has won two out of their last five matches against Sheffield with the latter winning once and the teams figuring in a draw two other times during that period. Sheffield is playing this match with only three days rest while the Spurs have a week off before facing the Blades. I think that’s the difference here. I’ll take the well-rested Tottenham side here.
PREDICTION: TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Seven out of the last eight Premier League games played by Sheffield United have yielded a total of over 2.5 goals. On the other hand, Tottenham’s last three league matches have produced a total of under 2.5 goals. Harry Kane’s return is a welcome sign for the Spurs and it gives the scoring in this match a boost. However, Sheffield United is one of the worst scoring teams in the league this season but have a solid defense that is ranked third overall. I like these teams to play to a low-scoring contest and I think they will score less than 2.5 goals here.
PREDICTION: UNDER 2.5 GOALS
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