Goal.com

Bet365 have priced up a market on the 29-year-old's goal total in the Premier League and Jim Knight believes there's value in backing him to continue his rich vein of form

Jermain Defoe has made an impressive start to the new Premier League season, even if Tottenham's results do not necessarily reflect that.

Andre Villas-Boas has preferred the England international up front to Emmanuel Adebayor and the 29-year-old has repaid the coach's confidence in him, already netting three times in four league games.

Bet365's line of over or under 12.5 Premier League goals could prove to be set too low if Defoe can continue to produce in the final third. 5/6 (1.83) is available on either over or under this line.

His form hasn't been restricted to the domestic stage though, his performances for England over the last month have been very encouraging for Spurs fans.

A late winner against Italy was followed by a goal against Moldova and his latest double against Reading only adds weight to his claim to continue starting up front in Villas-Boas' side.

Question marks were raised by some about whether the combination of Defoe and Adebayor would be able to provide the required amount of goals over the course of a season for Spurs to be challenging in and around the Champions League places.

While the question marks over Spurs' top-four credentials remain valid, Andre Villas-Boas' approach has seen his side score in each of their four Premier League matches; the main issue appears to be in keeping clean sheets at the other end of the pitch, despite the good form of 41-year-old Brad Friedel, while new signing Hugo Lloris watches on from the bench. For now at least.

There is of course, a danger that Defoe could lose his place to Adebayor in the coming months, he was on the fringes for parts of last season, making just 11 league starts last season.

However, in a squad rotation scenario, with the rigours of European and domestic cup football soon to be added into the equation, the former Portsmouth striker should see plenty of time in the pitch and have oppportunities to add to his total.

Villas-Boas has spoken highly of his charge in recent weeks and the signing of a new three-year contract indicates that he is likely to play a key part in his plans.

Perhaps a telling statistic is that despite just 11 league starts last term, Defoe found the net 11 times in the Premier League, finishing with 17 goals in all competitions.

Considering he already has three goals to his name, the value appears to be in backing him to score over 12.5 league goals, especially at the 5/6 (1.83) available, which will no doubt reduce should Defoe score in his next couple of games. 

In the absence of another "out-and-out" striker, it seems unlikely that he will be dropped from Villas-Boas' starting line up in the short term, especially while he continues to play as well as he has been doing.

Clint Dempsey's arrival adds more to Spurs' attacking presence but again, he would be unlikely to be a direct replacement for Defoe, playing more of a support role.

With three of the 13 goals needed to land the bet already on the board, now is the time to take the 5/6 (1.83) on offer from Bet365 in their specials market, especially with Defoe in good scoring touch and games against QPR, Aston Villa and Southampton in the next few weeks.

BET

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BEST BET

Jermain Defoe to score over 12.5 Premier League goals at 5/6 (1.83) with Bet365

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Jim Knight is Betting Editor at Goal.com and has been tipping football games since he was old enough to place a bet. He is a Leicester City fan, writer and member of the We Are Going Up Podcast
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