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With or without Bale, Tottenham are still a top 6 squad and although the Welshman has often proven to be a game changer I believe that they have enough superior talent to see off Crystal Palace on this opening weekend.
Spurs bolstered their squad through the high profile acquisitions of Paulinho, Chadli, and Soldado which in my opinion will actually provide more stability and less dependency on Bale. This will work in their favour against opponents like Crystal Palace. In the past they have often lost points in similar matches when Bale was switched off.
Crystal Palace were promoted through the playoffs. They brought in a number of players however they have lost England international, Zaha who was instrumental in last season’s promotion. On top of that, top scorer Murray (30 league goals last season) and experienced newcomer Thomas are both out injured. A lot depends on the young shoulders of Gayle who awed everyone by his steady progress last season but who is still totally unproven at this level.
In a nutshell, Tottenham’s superior quality and Crystal Palace’s squad problems point towards a Spurs win. The bookies have kept their odds fairly decent, probably due to Bale’s absence, however as I said, they still should be able to see off this one relatively easy.
Pick: 2
Odds: 1.83
Bookmaker: ➾ William Hill
Stake: 10 units
Tipster: ibfm23
| TIPSTER: Ibfm23 | Total profit: +12.76 | Tips won: 13 |
| Country: Malta | Total yield: +5.45% | Tips lost: 16 |
| Speciality: Football | Total picks: 31 | Tips pushed: 2 |
| 14.09 | • Watford vs Charlton | 2.05 | 8 | ❌ | -8 |
| 14.09 | • Burnley vs Blackburn | 2 | 8 | ❌ | -8 |
| 10.09 | • Ukraine vs England | 2.63 | 5 | ❌ | -5 |
| 10.09 | • Armenia vs Denmark | 2.3 | 10 | ✅ | +13 |
| 10.09 | • Iceland vs Albania | 2.2 | 8 | ✅ | +9.6 |
| 06.09 | • Poland vs Montenegro | 2 | 8 | ❌ | -8 |
| 06.09 | • Czech Republic vs Armenia | 2.15 | 5 | ❌ | -5 |
| 31.08 | • Blackburn vs Bolton | 2.5 | 5 | ✅ | +7.5 |
| 31.08 | • Oxford vs Rochdale | 2.1 | 5 | ❌ | -5 |
| 27.08 | • PAOK vs Schalke | 2.3 | 8 | ✅ | +10.4 |
