Quick Analysis Ahead Of Liverpool vs Tottenham Hotspur
Liverpool already have the advantage knowing that they lead Spurs with 2 points ahead of this weekend’s action. This means that victory at Anfield over the Lilywhites will seal a fifth-place finish for the Merseyside Reds. The race for UEFA Europa League tickets in England is pretty much a two-horse affair—between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.
The winner of the fight could even be decided on the very last match-day of the English Premier League; that is, if the Merseyside Reds fail to beat their rivals from London on Sunday. In truth, aren’t Liverpool the sole combatants for the only Europa League spot which is on offer?
Below is a relevant portion of the table standings as can be seen on Live Soccer TV’s English Premier League page:
4
Manchester City
36
19
8
9
55
33
+22
65
5
Liverpool
36
17
7
12
59
41
+18
58
6
Tottenham Hotspur
36
14
14
8
51
45
+6
56
Liverpool vs Tottenham Hotspur Crucial For The Reds’ Momentum
For Liverpool, retaining their current 5th position is not a matter of being passionate of Europa League football. It’s definitely more about maintaining the momentum within a team which felt the pressure of the relegation zone at some point during this season’s league campaign.
The 6-year period of Rafael Benitez and the miserable spell of Liverpool’s shortest serving manager, Roy Hodgson, are well over. These moments are part of the past now and the appointment of Kenny Dalglish this year has pushed the Merseyside Reds into a new era.
The mission for the Liverpool legend is thus clear; Dalglish has to restore the pride of the club and his works so far seem to match the fans’ needs. However, there is still more job left on the table and the Liverpool coach is aware of that. His very recent 3-year contract with the 18-time English Premier League champions has appeared to give Dalglish more confidence from the board and the entire team to execute his wonders.
“We said at the outset that if we stick together and work together, then it makes it easier to produce better results. And that’s the main reason why results have improved,” Dalglish proudly told The Sun following his successful contract agreement on Thursday.
“We’ve got the reward for that through a great number of points [achieved since Roy Hodgson’s departure]. The place is much more stable now than before. Fans have a wee smile on their faces and it is up to us to keep it there for as long as possible.”
Bitter Spurs Have Their Minds Set On Champions League Football... Only
At Liverpool presently, “everyone’s pulling in the same direction and everyone wants the selfsame thing” as Kenny Dalglish stated according to English news source The Sun. But at Tottenham Hotspur, things are way different. Everyone’s eyes and minds seem to be waiting for time to fly quickly—stealing the pain away as well. Obsession for Champions League football has made life very hard for Spurs.
In midweek, they agonizingly buried their hopes for a top 4 finish as Peter Crouch’s own goal sealed a vital triumph for Manchester City. How many people would genuinely expect Tottenham Hotspur to immediately recover from their wounds and take Europa League football as a consolation?
William Gallas, for example, is deeply troubled by the many mistakes that cost his team so big. During an interview with The Sun, the former Arsenal defender couldn’t hide his bitter disappointment as he declared:
“Even if people say, ‘you had a great season’, I don’t think so. When we play against the small teams, maybe—I say maybe—we thought we had won before we played.
“Perhaps that’s the mistake we’ve made [throughout the season]. We dropped too many points against Blackpool, Wolves and West Ham [United].
What happened to AC Milan’s giant killers in the quarter-finals of the Champions League against Real Madrid? Why couldn’t they find a few important winners against lower oppositions at times in the Premier League? How did Tottenham Hotspur stumble to as much as 14 draws in 36 matches? These are some of the multiple questions that have been tormenting Spurs lately.
UEFA Champions League football seems to have become an addiction for Tottenham Hotspur who “have to be back in the Champions League” because they “want to be a big club” as Gallas told The Sun. Have Spurs already served this season’s UEFA Europa League spot to Liverpool on a platter?
