In the English Premier League, Sunday’s soccer schedule (9am ET) offers what, at first glance, appears to be one of the easiest games to call. Sheffield United are adrift at the bottom of the table and Chris Wilder’s team are currently nine points from safety. Twenty five points above them are Tottenham Hotspur who had been leading the table until a recent dip in results.
Those basic stats tend to point towards the away win and the sportsbooks agree but could the match at Bramall Lane provide one of the surprise results of the season? Read on for our match preview and Sheffield Utd vs Spurs predictions.
Moneyline Odds
Jose Mourinho’s Spurs lead the result market by some distance and the best industry odds on the away win currently stands at -150. The draw could be a tempting prospect for this game and it is currently available at an average of around +275 while the away win is listed at a top price of +550.
The gap between these two sides has led to those obvious moneyline figures but it doesn’t tell the full story. Sheffield United have been struggling but the Blades finally won their first game of 2020/21 as they edged past Newcastle by a goal to nil on Tuesday. A day later, Spurs dropped points to another relegation threatened side as Fulham came away from North London with a 1-1 draw.
Mourinho’s men can often struggle against a physical unit such as this Blades side. It is worth remembering that Tottenham went down by three goals to one in the corresponding fixture last season. In 2020/21, Sheffield United have failed to replicate the form that took them within reach of the Europa League places but Spurs fans will be wary and a draw certainly isn’t out of the question.
Prop Bets
We will commit to a moneyline verdict very shortly but for now, let’s take a look at the players who can decide the outcome of this game. Tottenham’s Harry Kane opened the scoring in Wednesday’s draw against Fulham and that was his 11th league goal in 17 matches in 2020/21.
Kane is an obvious choice to open the scoring and there will be interest in England’s captain at industry best odds of +300. We think that Son Heung-Min is a better option here at +400. The South Korean international is actually outscoring Kane with 12 goals in 17 matches and he is usually found at more tempting prices than his teammate.
From a Sheffield United perspective, the man to watch could be Lys Mousset who is ranked at around +850 to open the scoring. The French under-21 international has struggled this season but he did find the net in the Blades’ 3-1 win over Spurs at the end of the previous campaign. Elsewhere, United’s leading scorer in the league is David McGoldrick and he’s available at similar odds to Mousset.
In other prop markets, Both Teams to Score is available for this match at +100 (evens) in places. It’s rare to see this option without a minus figure in front of it so we’ll certainly be considering that one in our verdict. When BTTS carries higher odds, there is usually some value in the total goals betting too and we have similar odds of +100 to bet over the 2.5 line. A push to over 3.5 will see those numbers increase to +200 in some places.
For those who like to finish with a smaller wager on a correct score bet, the 1-1 draw holds some interest for us and this outcome is on offer at a current industry best of +700. A 2-1 win for Spurs is slightly further back at +800 while the same scoreline in favor of Sheffield United is much higher at a best of +1800.
Our Preview’s Sheffield United vs Tottenham Predictions & Betting Picks Verdict
Our correct score suggestions always offer a clue as to where we think the game will go and, in this case, we expect things to be very tight. Spurs may have recorded some high scoring wins earlier in the campaign but they rely too heavily on Son and Kane and when the duo aren’t finding the net, Mourinho’s men will struggle.
On that basis, we’ll follow through with our initial instinct and back the draw on Sunday. Sheffield United will take some momentum from that first Premier League win of the season and Spurs are vulnerable against this type of workmanlike, physical side. If the Blades are to get anything from this match, it is likely that their leading scorer David McGoldrick will have to find the net. McGoldrick to score anytime is at a generous price, as is that Both Teams to Score bet which has hit a rare level.
If you disagree with the assessment of the draw, you can still consider the two prop bets, both of which have a good chance of converting at relatively long odds in what should be a tight EPL encounter. So to conclude our predictions, these are the advised picks:
- The draw @ best odds of +277 with Bookmaker.
- Both teams to score @ evens (+100) with Bovada.
- David McGoldrick to score at any time @ +400 with Bovada.
Matt Harris is a golf and soccer expert for USA Betting. His other area of specialist knowledge is cricket. He is well known in sports journalism and contributes articles to a plethora of big-name websites and media outlets. Titles that he writes or has written for include: Betfair, BetVictor, Unibet & Just Bookies.