Thursday, 18 October, 2012 - 09:30 to Saturday, 20 October, 2012 - 14:30

One of the biggest London derby’s of the year takes place this weekend as Chelsea make the short trip to Tottenham to face ex-manager Andre Villas Boas in what is sure to be a heated affair.

The bookmakers can’t seem to separate these two sides in terms of prices, both of them generally floating around the price 6/4, though Chelsea is a little more varied amongst the highstreet bookies. The best price for a home win can be found with Paddy Power at 8/5. For a Chelsea victory the best odds are with Pinnacle who offer 21/11, the draw is the best price with them as well as they have it priced at 87/35.

Both these sides come into this match in a fine run of form, Chelsea winning all of their last 6 with Spurs almost matching that feat but having drawn one, a Europa League game to Panathinaikos. Both also contain an impressive scalp in their victories, with Chelsea having won their last London derby against Arsenal and Spurs finally ending their terrible run at Old Trafford by beating Manchester United.

Chelsea have been on red hot attacking form this season, in their last 6 they have notched up 4 or more goals on 3 occasions, and Tottenham have a habit of allowing goals against their opposition this season. Add to that the fact that Tottenham have only failed to score at home once this season (against a Lazio side who have allowed only 6 goals in their 7 Serie A games this season) and Both Teams to Score looks a very likely bet. This is priced at 8/13 amongst various bookies both on the highstreet and online.

One of the big pluses from Tottenham’s victory against Aston Villa in their last match was their effective use of speed, something which AVB used to devastate Portugal and Europe whilst in charge of his remarkable season with Porto. Pace on both sides of the wings plus defenders on the opposition who have had trouble with balls over the top (John Terry) and who are just downright unpredictable (David Luiz) could mean plenty of fouls. Along with this the sheer attacking prowess of Chelsea and the almost guaranteed intensity of the match mean a punt on a penalty to be awarded at 15/8 with Paddy Power is very appealing.

Despite the recent form, a high scoring counter doesn’t seem likely in this tie. Chelsea have not encountered a side with a real threat of pace yet this season which should cause them to sit back. Spurs are a side growing in confidence and the home advantage will see them sneak this I think. 2-1 Tottenham is available at 10/1 with Totesport.