Tottenham should have beaten Bolton at the Reebok after a convincing second-half display and I expect them to finish the job at White Hart Lane. The Trotters are leaking goals at one end and struggling to score them at the other. Although they have enough about them to cause Spurs a few problems of their own, Harry Redknapp’s team’s superiority should tell.

Spurs confidence will be boosted by their 3-0 win at Wigan which was well deserved. Previous Tottenham sides may have took one look at the awful state of the pitch and not fancied a battle but Harry’s team aren’t soft touches anymore. Under Juande Ramos they would have struggled physically in that game but the likes of Michael Dawson, Ledley King and Wilson Palacios have given Spurs more of a physical competitive edge for these type of games. They will need to show that again against Bolton.

The loss of Aaron Lennon through injury was a big blow to Tottenham which has shown in the results but I still feel they have quality in midfield to pick up wins. They may lack the pace and incision of Lennon but the likes of Luka Modric, Niko Kranjcar and David Bentley will always cause problems with their clever passing and movement. Another added surprising attacking bonus for Harry will the re-emergence of Gareth Bale as a first team star. The lad has transformed himself from a nervous wreck of a defender into one of the first names of the current team-sheet. We always knew he was a talent but only now has Bale found his feet and confidence at Tottenham. Sometimes young kids get big moves and struggle but Gareth is now looking like a serious pro and not a boy who has earned a move too soon.

Bale showed enough in the game at the Reebok that he will need to be shackled by Bolton but with Spurs likely to have a lot of the ball that may be easier said than done. Roman Pavlyuchenko scored twice at Wigan and is being tipped to start this one with Tottenham facing a tough match with Everton this coming weekend. The Russian is obviously not flavour of the month with Harry but the fact he shipped Robbie Keane out of the club before Pavlyuchenko suggests he does have a role to play at the club at least until the summer. The fact Robbie was allowed to leave on loan suggests Harry was desperate to get him out of the club. He may have spoken about Robbie returning but as we all know Harry often says one thing in the press and does another behind the scenes.

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This is a chance for the Russian to prove he has a future at the Lane or to attract another club to his ability. He has not become a bad player overnight and the fans seem to like him. However, whenever I have seen him for Spurs he has not worked particularly hard or looked physically tough enough. Perhaps now he is focused on proving Harry wrong, he will start to prove his worth on the pitch.

Bolton slumped to a 3-0 defeat at Blackburn at the weekend which has seen them cemented in the bottom three. A cup run is all well and good but Owen Coyle knows that Premier League survival must be the primary focus. Bolton weren’t good at Ewood Park although the three-goal scoreline flattered Blackburn somewhat.

Owen Coyle is in a difficult situation at Bolton; he likes his teams to play a short passing game but has inherited a team that has been direct for many seasons. It will be hard for him to stamp his own style of play on this side particularly when they are fighting a relegation battle. Owen will want his new team to play a bit more but that’s not easy when you are not used to it and lacking confidence.

Coyle’s situation reminds me a bit of Mike Walker who moved from Norwich to Everton in 1994. Norwich were a very good footballing team but the move to Goodison never really worked as Mike struggled to instil his own sense of style on the Toffees which ultimately cost him his job after just ten months.

Kevin Davies will be a threat to Tottenham with his aerial and physical strength but apart from him and Matt Taylor’s ability from set-pieces, there shouldn’t be too much threat to Spurs defence. Johan Elmander is very hit and miss, he was like this even when he was at Toulouse which is why I am so surprised Gary Megson signed him for what was a ridiculous fee. The Swede is totally out of sorts and his confidence has gone so I don’t see him threatening Gomes in the Tottenham goal.

The loss of Gary Cahill is a massive blow to Bolton as he was instrumental to everything the team did that was good. He led from example, defended well and was always liable to pop up with a goal or two. Andy O’Brien is simply nowhere near as good, in fact he is distantly average so the likes of Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch or Roman Pavlyuchenko will fancy their chances of giving him problems. Although Bolton created plenty of chances in the first half against Spurs , I don’t think they will pose as many threats at White Hart Lane and with Spurs buoyed by the win over Wigan, I am backing Tottenham to go through.