After claiming UEFA Europa League victories over Qarabag and Ferencvaros, Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to kick on when they entertain Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in their third game of the league phase on Thursday.
Alkmaar need to bounce back from their defeat to Athletic Bilbao in their last Europa League game, one of four straight losses suffered by the Eredivisie team.
Tottenham Hotspur to win & both teams to score - 13/8
Tottenham Hotspur's gung-ho approach has drawn criticism from some quarters, but there is little doubt that the entertainment value has been high and that trend could continue in their third Europa League game of the season.
Much was made of their collapse at Brighton when they lost 3-2 after taking a two-goal lead, but that has been the only match in their last seven that they haven’t won and there looks a strong chance they will come out on top against AZ Alkmaar, who have lost their last four matches.
Ange Postecoglou’s attacking philosophy is not going to change and even though they won their previous Europa League home game 3-0 against Qarabag, they still allowed their opponents a host of chances.
That was one of just five home clean sheets Spurs have kept under the Australian’s guidance and should give AZ cause for optimism that they can get something in the final third.
The Dutch outfit have failed to net in recent road losses to Athletic Bilbao and Fortuna Sittard, but they had found the net in nine of their previous 11 away matches.
Arsenal and Manchester City are the only teams Spurs have failed to score at least twice against in their last 11 home games, so a win for the Londoners with both teams scoring looks the way to go.
Dejan Kulusevski to score at any time - 13/5
One player who has flourished in recent weeks for Tottenham is Dejan Kulusevski and the Swede looks a decent bet to find the net for the third time this season.
The former Juventus attacker has been utilised in a more central role rather than being stuck out on the right wing and looks to have relished the chance to be at the heart of the action.
He was superb in Tottenham’s recent 3-0 victory at Manchester United, netting with a well-taken second goal and he was also on target in Saturday’s 4-1 victory over West Ham.
Brennan Johnson is the only one of his teammates to have had more shots in the Premier League this season and Kulusevski also had a total of 12 in two internationals against Slovakia and Estonia, so his confidence is clearly sky high.
Troy Parrott over 1.5 shots on target - 12/5
One player who will be desperate to put on a show in Thursday’s game will be AZ striker Troy Parrott.
The Ireland striker made his Spurs debut as a 17-year-old under Jose Mourinho but made just four appearances for the club before being farmed out on loan to four EFL clubs and also Excelsior in the Netherlands.
He moved permanently to the Eredivisie in the summer and has settled well at Alkmaar, scoring four times in last month’s 9-1 victory over Heerenveen.
Parrott has had 14 shots on target in nine league appearances this term and he won’t need a second invitation to try his luck against his former club on Thursday, so take him to test the Spurs keeper more than once.
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Tottenham Hotspur - 21/50
Draw - 4/1
AZ Alkmaar - 11/2
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.