Jose Mourinho's men were three games without a win when the
season was suspended, sitting seven points behind fourth-placed Chelsea. The
2019/20 Premier League season is currently frozen in time. The coronavirus
pandemic has led to a nationwide lockdown and the postponement of all sporting
fixtures. But it has been confirmed that the campaign will resume next
month.
In the case of Tottenham Hotspur, they will be
looking to make a charge towards qualifying for Europe. Possibly even the
Champions League, particularly if Manchester City’s European ban is upheld.
Since Jose Mourinho was appointed, only Liverpool and the two
Manchester teams have earned more league points than Spurs. But how have they
tended to do in the final nine league matches of seasons in the past?
As a general rule, they haven’t been as successful as in the
opening three-quarters of the campaign. Last year was the ultimate example of
this, where Spurs took just 10 points from their final nine matches, though of
course reaching the Champions League final played a part in that.
Tottenham fans will be hoping their team takes inspiration
from 2016/17 when they won eight of their last nine games, as unlikely as it is
that a repeat performance will occur. The good news is that most of their
toughest remaining fixtures are at home, with only one of their four games on
the road against a club currently in the top half of the table.
In terms of the traditional big clubs, Manchester United and
Arsenal still have to visit Tottenham in 2019/20. United won their last season,
but it was their first victory at Spurs since 2012, and the Gunners have only
picked up three points once in their last 11 league visits.
Tottenham’s final home game in theory sees third place
Leicester City visit north London. History suggests it should be entertaining,
as the last five meetings at Spurs have included 5-4 and 4-3 home wins.
Aside from those three games, Tottenham’s only other match
against a team currently in the top half sees them travel to Bramall Lane. There’s
no recent history between the teams, aside from a 1-1 draw last November. It
should be close when they next clash.
Spurs’ other remaining games on home turf see them host
Everton and West Ham United. Tottenham fans won’t need reminding that the Hammers
won on their patch last season, though Spurs did return the favor in Mourinho’s
first game in charge. As for the Toffees, their last win at Tottenham was back
in 2008. The final three matches on the road will see Tottenham travel to
face Bournemouth, Newcastle, and then Crystal Palace on the final weekend.
Spurs suffered defeat at the Vitality Stadium in the
penultimate game of 2018/19 but had won 5-1 and 4-1 in two of their three
visits before that. Newcastle may bring back painful memories of a 5-1 defeat
on the final day of 2015/16, though both Tyneside meetings since have resulted
in away wins.
That just leaves Spurs with Selhurst Park, and a fixture
they’ve won 1-0 in each of the last three seasons. Who knows if it will be the
final match once the rest of the season is rescheduled, but there’s every
chance Tottenham will head into the summer on a high if it is.
Fans can buy all sports tickets from: https://www.xchangetickets.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment