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Tottenham v Qarabag
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Kick Off: Thursday 26th September at 20:00
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Competition: Europa League
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Tottenham v Qarabag Bet Builder Tips
Tottenham kick off their first European campaign with Ange Postecoglou at the helm under the lights in North London after an inconsistent start to the Premier League season with two wins, two losses and a draw from their opening five games of the 24/25 campaign. They come into this Europa League clash with a bit of momentum, firing three past Brentford to win after going behind early on.
Qarabag hail from Azerbaijan and have had a solid start to their domestic league which they won convincingly last season, finishing 25 points clear of second-placed side Zira and scoring 97 goals in the process.
They were originally in the running to qualify for the Champions League having got the better of Lincoln Red Imps and Ludogorets in qualifying rounds, but ultimately fell short against Dinamo Zagreb. The Croatian side fired five past them without reply over the two legs, causing them to drop down into the Europa League.
Tottenham v Qarabag Best Bets
Over 3.5 goals is available here at 1.91, and looks well worth backing. Goals have become an expectation in games involving Tottenham under Ange Postecoglou, their bold strategy produces some exciting football underlined by their average of 3.5 goals per game in the Premier League last season (74 scored, 61 conceded).
Their strategy in Europe is unlikely to change with the Spurs boss once again doubling down on his approach after the win against Brentford. Qarabag themselves may also have a decent chance of finding the back of the net, they scored 97 goals across 36 league games last season and have already found the back of the net 16 times across their opening six games of the season.
Their four away games in the Europa League last season produced 16 goals which included a valiant attempt against eventual finalists Bayer Leverkusen in a clash which produced 5 goals.
Tottenham are heavy favourites to come out of Thursday’s tie on top, they’re priced as low as 1/7 in some places to take all three points in this new league format so it makes sense to look at some goalscorer options for the Lilywhites.
Dominic Solanke to score anytime at 1.80 looks the best option, with the new signing having scored his first goal of his Tottenham career against Brentford, Ange Postecoglou may look to ring the changes with Manchester United to come at the weekend but with limited options up front with Spurs, Solanke should be given the nod again as he looks to fully gel with their system.
Qarabag have conceded eight goals across their last four qualifying games against Ludogorets and Dinamo Zagreb, the step up in quality should be too much for the Azerbaijani champions who will no doubt look to focus on their home ties to secure a route to the next round.
📂 Tottenham v Qarabag Cheat Sheet
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📊 Tottenham Form and Stats
Tottenham are yet to really hit the heights Ange Postecoglou has defiantly boasted about in his press conferences, he’s claimed that he always wins things in his second season and the Europa League might just be their best route to silverware, especially with the change meaning that no teams drop down from the Champions League in this new format but there are a few things he will want to address.
After a bright start to his reign, things have tailed off slightly for Tottenham. Across their last 32 Premier League games they’ve only taken 44 points out of the 96 available, a record that has them in mid-table mediocrity if you rank their performance over the last calendar year alongside sides like Bournemouth.
The defensive structure has long been a talking point for critics of Ange’s bold style and it translates into the numbers, they conceded 61 goals last season (1.6 per 90) and have only managed to win 4 out of their last 12 Premier League games, largely due to their shaky defensive record.
The positives in the early parts of this season are in their possession and corner numbers, Spurs have had the second-highest average possession of any side in the Premier League (63.7%) with only Manchester City bettering their time on the ball. Tottenham have also had 53 corners across their 5 games, an average of 10.6 per game, the highest in the league.
It’s a threat worth considering as they struggle to come to chances in open play in the early parts of this season despite high possession numbers. Threats in the box like Cristian Romero matched by the delivery of James Maddison and Pedro Porro make this a credible avenue to goal for Spurs.
The main worry for Spurs in the early stages of this season are similar to the issues which plagued them in the second half of last campaign, they’re particularly vulnerable in the second half of games as we’ve already seen against Leicester, Arsenal and Newcastle which could be a mentality issue and they’re also vulnerable from set pieces with every side now honing in on Vicario’s reluctance to come and claim the ball.
Ange’s style is increasingly coming under criticism but it’s worth noting he had similar question marks over his ability at Celtic, Yokohama Mariners and Brisbane Roar. Tottenham are one of the strongest sides in this competition and should comfortably finish in the top 8, the big questions in this competition for Tottenham will come in the away knockout ties where Ange may be forced to change his style but expect them to come through the league phase comfortably despite the question marks over long term sustainability.
📊 Qarabag Form and Stats
Qarabag dominated their domestic league last season finishing as champions on 83 points with a goal difference of +60. They were head and shoulders above the other sides in the Azerbaijani Premier League and put in a decent account of themselves in the Europa League last season which included a thrilling 5-4 tie over two legs against undefeated Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen. Qarabag had 23 shots across the two legs scoring 4 goals in the process showing they can still be a threat on the European stage.
They enter this Europa Clash with Tottenham on the back of 3 successive wins, the latest being a 4-0 drubbing of FK Neftchi so they come into this encounter with plenty of confidence even if they don’t have the quality of their opposition.
They are coached by Qurban Qurbanov who has a wealth of experience having been in charge of the side since 2008, picking up 10 league titles and 6 cup victories in his time at the club, including a double last season. Despite the low ranking of the Azerbaijani league, it’s worth noting that he has an 83.3% win percentage with Qarabag which is seriously impressive over the 16 years he’s been in charge.
In terms of key players to look out for in this Qarabag side there are a few in attacking areas that can hurt a disjointed Tottenham backline which will be without Cristian Romero who is suspended. Juninho was their top scorer in the Europa League last season with the Brazilian striker scoring 5 goals in his 10 appearances which included goals both home and away against Bayer Leverkusen as well as contributions against Molde, Braga and Hacken.
He had 23 shots (2.60 per 90) and 11 shots on target (1.25 per 90) across his 10 Europa League appearances last season so he’s one to consider if you’re looking at Qarabag players to make a mark at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Qarabag might be a new team to some but they’ve been competing in Europe since 2014 which has included a few stints in the Champions League. They undeniably are underdogs coming into this clash but do have a consistency of success Tottenham can only dream of and a manager that has been established at the club for over 10 years.
They have some bright players in attack which can cause Tottenham issues, especially if they persist with their bold approach. Expect the Azerbaijani champions to be organised and effective when they go forward although this might prove too tough a task for Qurban Qurbanov’s side who may be targeting games further down the line as they look to break into the top 8.
⚔️ Tottenham v Qarabag Head-to-Head
These sides did play each other in the Europa League group stages back in 2015, Tottenham won both games by an aggregate score of 4-1 although there isn’t much we can take from these games as they were under Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure at the club, the only constant is the Qarabag manager who was in charge for both games against Tottenham last time these sides met.
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* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.
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