Is it all about to go Spursy for Spurs, even though they are not really Spursy? Tottenham entertain in a crunch match in N17 and all three possible outcomes could have immense consequences as the title race and battle for European places go down to the wire.
Victory would wreck Manchester City’s title chances and leave needing victory at home to on Sunday to win their first championship in two decades, while a draw would have the top two level on points, with the Gunners three goals better off.
Defeat could ruin Tottenham’s chances of playing Champions League football next season if Aston Villa fail to win at home to Liverpool on Monday night.
The overwhelming majority of Spurs fans on social media want their team to lose to prevent bitter rivals Arsenal from winning the title but manager .
Instead he bullishly stated: ‘I will never understand if someone wants their own team to lose… please don’t tell me that’s your world. If it is you need counselling.’
Those who ridicule Spurs, which includes the rest of London and most of the country, conveniently overlook the fact Postecoglou has worked wonders to transform the club from the mind-numbing mediocrity of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte and make them a vibrant club with a bright future.
Finishing fourth or fifth in Big Ange’s first season in charge would be a remarkable achievement and one which eluded Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool and Mikel Arteta with the Gunners. A few shrewd additions in the summer will improve Spurs further, paving the way for a truly exciting season at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs have won their last four Premier League home games with City and put in a decent effort when a hotly disputed Nathan Ake header sent them to defeat in their FA Cup tie with Pep Guardiola’s finalists in January after a 3-3 draw at the Etihad Stadium early in December.
Tottenham go into the crucial match with their 2-1 win against Burnley on Saturday having all but guaranteed European football in some capacity but City have won their last 11 games in the top flight and the last nine have been by more than one goal.
Spurs are a huge price to win at 6/1 with William Hill, Betfred, Betfair and Sky Bet but City are in prime form and won’t be beaten. The last 14 Tottenham home league games have seen both sides score and that trend will continue with City winning 3-1 which is 10/1 with William Hill and bet365.
Both teams to score and City to win is 5/4 with Betway, bet365 and Hills while Phil Foden is 6/1 with the latter two firms and 6/4 with bet365 to score at any time. Brennan Johnson is 6/1 to reply for the hosts.
• Michael Smith and Nathan Aspinall meet in a dramatic finale to the Premier League Darts regular season in Sheffield on Thursday with the winner joining Luke Littler, Luke Humphries and Michael Van Gerwen in next week’s play-offs at the O2 Arena in London. Smith won 6-3 when the pair met in Leeds last week and is 10/11 with William Hill, bet365 and Sky Bet to triumph again.
• Ben An produced an eye-catching five-under par final round at the Wells Fargo Championship on Sunday which was only bettered by four-time winner Rory McIlroy. It was enough for a solo third finish and An is worth following at 10/3 with Paddy Power and Betfair to be the top Korean at this week’s US PGA at Valhalla.
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