Can Mourinho help Spurs overtake Chelsea?

Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-0 win over 10-man Manchester City over the weekend saw Jose Mourinho’s side close to within four points of Chelsea and the top four.

With Manchester City 14 points ahead of the North London club and Leicester City 12 points better off, it is likely there is only one Champions League spot up for grabs between now and May.

Frank Lampard’s side have held onto that place for several months now but a recent dip in form has opened the door for the challenging pack.

Chelsea have won just four of their last 13 Premier League matches and just one of their last five since the turn of the year. Still, the Blues are short odds to finish in the top four, which gives great value on the chasing pack. This can be taken advantage of with a Paddy power free bets promotion 2020 for a risk free bet. This typifies the 2019-20 Premier League season, with Tottenham, Manchester United and Arsenal all failing to take advantage of the Blues’ dropped points. The West London club were also in fourth place after 25 games last season. They had 50 points back then – nine more than they currently have.

More points can be expected to be dropped in the coming weeks. Chelsea’s next four home league games are against Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and Manchester City.

Is Jose the man to help Spurs take advantage of Chelsea’s slip ups? Well, prior to beating City on Sunday, the Portuguese coach had only guided his side to one late win in their last five.

Spurs’ defensive record has greatly improved since the turn of the year, conceding just three in their last five, compared to 12 in Jose’s first eight games in charge.

Goals haven’t been so easy to come by however, with Southampton, Liverpool and Watford all shutting out last season’s Champions League finalists at the start of January.

This coincides with the injury to Harry Kane that could keep the England captain out until as late as May.

Lucas Moura has been tried in the striker’s role without much success, but the new signing of Steven Bergwijn should be a real boost. The former PSV Eindhoven man opened his account for his new side with a stunning strike versus Manchester City.

The Dutch international is more of a wide man than an out-and-out striker but that simply allows Son Heung-min to move into a more advanced role which greatly benefited him last season during another spell on the sidelines for Kane.

Tottenham’s trip to Chelsea on Saturday 22 February is going to be huge in the race of fourth spot, particularly as Mourinho’s side were beaten 2-0 in the reverse fixture back in December.

Given Jose’s record in the Premier League and that he will be up against an inexperienced manager for the run in, Spurs are very much in the hat for a top four finish.

Follow @spursodyssey