Tottenham’s position in the Premier League is increasingly worrying. The same goes for numbers.
Check out these statistics:
— Six straight losses in all competitions. This has never happened before in the club’s nearly 144-year history.
advertise
— 11 games without a win in the Premier League. This is also a first for Tottenham Hotspur.
— Igor Tudor lost four of his first four games in temporary control. This has never happened to a Tottenham manager.
Things couldn’t seem to get any worse for Spurs, who, let’s not forget, won the Europa League last season and were one of the 12 founding members of the ambitious but flawed Super League project that was quickly aborted in 2021.
But, don’t worry, it can get worse.
Tottenham Hotspur suffered a 5-2 Champions League defeat at Atletico Madrid on Tuesday but must travel to Anfield for Sunday’s league match against Liverpool with a torn squad due to a combination of injuries, suspensions, potential concussion issues and a general lack of confidence.
advertise
Round 30 begins with Tottenham, a regular fixture in the top flight since the 1970s, two places and one point above the relegation zone with nine games remaining. They could be involved when the kick-off comes at Anfield.
Third-bottom West Ham United and fourth-bottom Nottingham Forest both trail Tottenham by a point heading into their home games against Manchester City on Saturday and Fulham on Sunday. Liverpool vs. Tottenham Hotspur is the final game on Sunday.
Key players such as James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Mohamed Kudus, Rodrigo Bentancur and Destiny Udoji remain on the injury list, while captain Christian Romero and midfielder Joao Palinha are likely to miss the weekend after clashing heads late in the game against Atletico Madrid. Key defender Mickey van der Veen is suspended.
Then there’s the goalkeeping situation. Guglielmo Vicario’s form was so poor that Tudor felt the need to drop him against Atletico Madrid and hand Anthony Kinski his first start since October. The 22-year-old Czech lasted less than 17 minutes before being sent off for a mistake.
advertise
That means Vicario is likely to regain his starting spot, but his confidence won’t be very high either.
Despite facing intense pressure, Tudor looks likely to take charge this weekend. Tottenham Hotspur confirmed in midweek that the Croatian will hold a press conference ahead of Friday’s game against Liverpool. Then there’s the second leg against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
After that, Tottenham’s only focus may be on avoiding relegation.
key matchup
Arsenal and Manchester City play on the same day in the latest chapter in the title race.
Arsenal faced Everton at home, leading by 7 points. In a few hours, Manchester City will play at the Olympic Stadium.
advertise
Manchester United and Aston Villa were level on points before their clash at Old Trafford, sitting third and fourth respectively.
Players to watch
The Champions League last 16 is in the midst of a tense turn as Round 30 approaches, with some rotation expected among the top teams.
However, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola may want to keep Antoine Semenho in his squad, with the Ghana international having scored seven goals in 13 games since joining from Bournemouth in January.
Chelsea striker Joao Pedro goes into Saturday’s home game against Newcastle, taking his tally to eight goals in his last eight games.
advertise
stop action
Liverpool have their own injury concerns away at Tottenham: Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker did not travel to Turkey for midweek’s 1-0 Champions League loss to Galatasaray due to an undisclosed issue.
Arsenal will once again be without midfielder and captain Martin Odegaard, who is currently recovering from a knee injury.
___
AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
