talkSPORT tips – Best football bets and expert advice on Thursday 5 March

Tottenham face a crucial London derby with Crystal Palace on Thursday night, with Spurs hoping to ease their Premier League relegation fears against the Eagles.

We have a trio of selections which make up our best bets of the day.

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Thursday football tips

Bet of the Day – Crystal Palace to beat Tottenham @ 19/10

The situation is getting rather desperate for Tottenham, who have been dragged into a Premier League relegation battle and Spurs’ worries may deepen when Crystal Palace come to north London.

Igor Tudor’s side are without a win in ten Premier League matches and the north Londoners have taken only four points on that dismal run.

The scoreline of a 2-1 defeat at Fulham last weekend gives the impression of a competitive performance from Spurs, but the expected goals numbers finished 2.88 to 0.88 in favour of the Cottagers and Tottenham were clearly second best.

It has been a season of turmoil for Palace too, but the Eagles have won two of their last four Premier League matches, Maxence Lacroix’s red card cost the south Londoners a positive result at Manchester United on Sunday and Oliver Glasner has key players back from injury.

Expectant Tottenham supporters will demand their side to go on the front foot on home turf, and given Spurs’ situation, they can’t really afford to sit back.

Palace are a dangerous counter-attacking team and this contest may set up perfectly for the Eagles to swoop.

Special of the Day – Lens to beat Lyon 2-1 @ 8/1

Lyon and Lens can deliver an entertaining Coupe de France quarter-final at Groupama Stadium.

Lyon’s 13-game winning run was ended by a 3-1 defeat at Strasbourg and the Kids were then beaten 3-2 at Marseille last weekend.

Paulo Fonseca’s solid defence has conceded only seven in 11 home Ligue 1 games this term, but even Lyon’s spirited rearguard may fall to Lens’ attack.

The Blood and Gold have hit the net 45 times in 24 league games this term and Pierre Sage’s men have scored ten goals in their three previous games in this competition.

Forwards Odsonne Edouard, Florian Thauvin and Wesley Said have combined to strike 27 times this term and that attacking trio rate an extremely dangerous attacking unit in cup competitions.

At 8/1, a punt can be taken on Lens beating Lyon 2-1 at the Groupama Stadium.

Longshot of the Day – Archie Gray to be shown a card & Ismaila Sarr to score first Tottenham v Crystal Palace bet builder @ 24/1

Tottenham have conceded 19 goals in their last eight Premier League matches, and with the need for a victory so great, this isn’t a contest where Spurs can really afford to take a pragmatic approach.

It’s clear that the north Londoners have major defensive issues and Ismaila Sarr has the counter-attacking potential to open the scoring.

The Senegalese forward has scored three goals in his last six appearances for Palace, it’s 13 strikes all told this season and that’s a good record considering the 28-year-old has been used in a wing-back position on occasions this term.

Archie Gray is likely to be deployed in a defensive position on Thursday night and the young Spurs man could be in trouble with the referee.

The 19-year-old has been shown seven yellow cards this season and five of those cautions have come on home turf.

Backing Gray to be booked and Sarr to score first in a bet builder pays a massive 24/1.

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Odds correct at time of publish and subject to change*

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