D. Tbilisi – Tottenham

Dinamo Tbilisi won the league last season in Georgia but they are still far away from european standards. Dinamo was defeated by Steaua in the 3rd qualifying round of Champions League, losing 2-0 at home and drawing 1-1 away. They were vastly outplayed by the romanians in both legs, despite missing a penalty at home. Before that, they eliminated EB Streymour, but still managed to concede two goals from the amateur feroese team. Dinamo currently has 4 points in 2 rounds in the league with 3-2 goal difference, not impressive.

Tottenham is not too happy on missing out on the Champions League to rivals Arsenal. But they will try to improve on last years Europa League performances, where they have been eliminated by Basel at penalties in the quarter finals. Villas Boas will not send all the regulars on the pitch (Bale will also be missing), but he will not field the second team either. A balanced mix of regulars and reserves should be more than enough for the visitors to secure a victory, especially with the bench players trying to prove themselves. Verthogen and Lennon have not flown to Georgia, Holtby is doubtful. Besides them and Bale we should see pretty much the best players in the starting eleven for the visitors, including new-boy Soldado.

Tottenham started the season well, with a 1-0 win away at Crystal Palace. With the transfers they made in the summer, they will most probable be top 4 this season.

The hosts are much more motivated than Tottenham to win this game, that is an obvious fact, but the english are also treating the tie seriously. And anyway, Motivation alone is sometimes not enough. The stadium, of course, will be packed, but I think Spurs are experienced enough to not be troubled by this aspect

The georgians are not reliable in defense, actually they`re rubbish at the back and so it is unlikely that they will be able to defend a draw. In these conditions Tottenham looks to be a safe bet, it will probably not be a blowout but an away win would be logical. If Dinamo was in some kind of extraordinary form and maybe with a bit more quality, then maybe we could see an upset, but in the current circumstances it his highly unlikely. The visitors will look to secure the qualification today and approach the reverse leg with no pressure.

Look for Tottenham to win this 2-0 or 3-1. Asian handicap -1 seems the best pick, since the odds on away win are rather low.

Pick: Tottenham (-1 AH)
Odds: 1.92 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 7
Possible profit: 6.44
Event date: 22 August