Tottenham Hotspur, who sit 4th in the Premier League at the time of writing, will have a big say in where the Premier League trophy will head to. Tottenham still have to face Manchester City and Arsenal at home, and go away to Anfield to face Liverpool and will be looking to pose a big test for all 3 teams to solidify a Champions League spot.
We statistically don’t have a good record away at Anfield, losing 4 of our last 5 games there, but we have won all 4 of our games against Manchester City in the Premier League at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. We have a good record at home against Arsenal too, only losing once in our last seven games against them, winning five of those. The home team usually goes into a derby favourites, especially when the teams are generally closely matched like Arsenal and Tottenham.
Micky Van De Ven has the pace and ability to stop numerous attacks that these teams will look to hit us with, and his partnership with Cristian Romero alongside Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro will be pivotal in us getting anything out of any of these games. Guglielmo Vicario will need to step up with many big saves too, as the likes of Haaland, Foden, Salah and Saka will be all looking to test us. We need masterclasses from each of them in all 3 games. As a Tottenham fan, of course I’d take a loss at Anfield if it meant Arsenal not winning the Premier League as their fans would be unbearable, but we should be competitive in every single game.
Our midfield needs to step up as Yves Bissouma has been in poor form and often lazy to tackles and not tracking back hard enough. The experience of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is certainly an option if we’re looking to keep hold of possession and show calmness on the ball, but even the Danish International has flaws in this department sometimes, as showcased with a nervy couple of minutes against Nottingham Forest yesterday. Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Matar Sarr are also midfield options to play the number 8 role and both the Uruguayan and Senegalese midfielder offer a nice passing range and a high level of tackling.
Our attack needs to be clinical in attacking our opponents as defences including Van Dijk, Stones, Saliba and Gabriel will not give up many chances. Timo Werner’s habits are effective against teams like Nottingham Forest and Brentford, but teams with better defensive knowhow could see the German struggle so I think captain Heung-Min Son could do a better job on the left hand side for this run of games, with Richarlison in the middle providing good aerial ability – also useful in heading away opposition set pieces. Brennan Johnson’s pace on the right should see him get the nod over Kulusevski, but it is very important to have players like Werner, Lo Celso and Kulusevski on the bench – players who can make an impact.
Ange will have an important role in coaching the team and he needs to be making good use of substitutes, especially as we face Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool within 7 or 8 days so expect the minutes to be shared. I believe that on our day we can get a positive result in all three matches, with our squad’s never say die attitude, but Anfield away in particular is a huge challenge. But either way Tottenham Hotspur have the opportunity to influence the Premier League winner this season.