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Dare we dream of fifth place now?
Liverpool's two disappointing results this week - a 0-0 draw at The Hawthorns and defeat at Hull - leave them in fifth place, but only level on points with Spurs. Liverpool have a goal difference of +10 compared to our +6. Southampton are just one point behind.
So, whilst the players' form of both Liverpool and Spurs might be on the wane, the fact is that fifth place is very much up for grabs. The major benefit would be to enter The Europa League at the group stages, without even a need for going through the play-off round. This would also happen if we finish sixth, with Arsenal winning the FA Cup. Should we finish sixth with Villa despatching Arsenal, then we would have to contend with Europa League football in July.
Mauricio Pochettino needs to bump up his enthusiasm for European football of the lesser nature, and make sure his players are focussed on the project. Our problem is that our four game challenge starts with Man City at home on Sunday!
Here are the remaining games for the three teams in contention for fifth place:-
Liverpool Spurs S'hampton
QPR (H) Man City (H) S'derland (A)
Chelsea (A) Stoke (A) Leicester (A)
C. Palace (H) Hull (H) A. Villa (H)
Stoke (A) Everton (A) Man City (A)
Every one of Spurs' games is hard for a different reason. City don't just beat us, but thrash us every time we meet these days. Hull, with three ex-Spurs players, are battling relegation, and fighting hard with two excellent results this week. Everton are in resurgent form, and Stoke are always hard to beat.
Liverpool have to face Stoke too, and also Chelsea away, although Chelsea might secure the title this coming Sunday, and have nothing to play for. Southampton have to play three of the teams involved in the fight against the drop, plus Man City away.
My gut feeling is that Spurs are going to remain in sixth place, but if you can draw up enthusiasm for The Europa League, our run-in might be interesting.
Eric Dier won your vote for the Spurs man of the match in last Saturday's game at St. Mary's. It was his first such success since the opening day of the season, when he scored that late, late winner at Upton Park, when he was also playing at right back. This time he no doubt attracted votes for his fine assist for Chadli's excellent goal.
· See the spursometer in full.
Results 25-29.04.15
S'hampton 2-2 Spurs
Burnley 0-1 Leicester
C. Palace 0-2 Hull
Newcastle 2-3 Swansea
QPR 0-0 West Ham
Stoke 1-1 S'derland
West Brom 0-0 Liverpool
Man City 3-2 A. Villa
Everton 3-0 Man Utd
Arsenal 0-0 Chelsea
Hull 1-0 Liverpool
Leicester 1-3 Chelsea
Barclays Premier League
P W D L F-A GD Pts
1. Chelsea 34 24 8 2 68-27 41 80
2. Man City 34 20 7 7 70-36 34 67
3. Arsenal 33 20 7 6 63-32 31 67
4. Man Utd 34 19 8 7 59-34 25 65
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5. Liverpool 34 17 7 10 47-37 10 58
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6. Spurs 34 17 7 10 55-49 6 58
7. S'hampton 34 17 6 11 47-26 21 57
8. Swansea 34 14 8 12 41-44 -3 50
9. Stoke 34 13 8 12 39-42 -3 47
10. Everton 34 11 11 12 44-43 1 44
11. West Ham 34 11 11 12 42-42 0 44
12. C. Palace 34 11 9 14 42-47 -5 42
13. West Brom 34 9 10 15 32-46 -14 37
14. Newcastle 34 9 8 17 36-57 -21 35
15. Hull 34 8 10 16 32-45 -13 34
16. A. Villa 34 8 8 18 26-48 -22 32
17. Leicester 34 8 7 19 36-54 -18 31
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18. S'derland 33 5 15 13 26-49 -23 30
19. QPR 34 7 6 21 38-59 -21 27
20. Burnley 34 5 11 18 26-52 -26 26
· All the Spurs Stats you could hope for here! THFC6061 Sports Stats
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