There is a joke going around on social media: ‘Tottenham was seventh in the standings with three games in hand. It has now played those games and dropped to eighth. Typical of Spurs to bottle it!’
Yes, sadly for Tottenham Hotspur fans, its season has gone off the rails.
It still has games in hand on the teams above, but once certain of grabbing a top-four spot, it is now struggling to regain its mojo.
And it faces rampaging Manchester City on Sunday (1.30am).
Pep Guardiola’s side sits comfortably at the top of the table with 63 points from 25 matches, nine ahead of Liverpool, having played a game more.
Chelsea is third on 47 points from 24 games, with Manchester United on 43, followed by West Ham (41), Arsenal (39), Wolves (37) and Tottenham (36).
United and West Ham have played 25 matches, Arsenal 23, and Tottenham and Wolves, only 22.
While it is still possible for Tottenham to occupy the all-important fourth spot that gives it a ticket to the Champions League, it needs to get back to its winning ways.
Antonio Conte was not pleased with the transfer window as the club missed out on several targets, most notably, Luis Diaz.
The Colombian was all set to join until Liverpool stepped in. He has been sensational since joining the Reds. Adama Traore also snubbed Tottenham to join Barcelona.
Tottenham’s last three defeats also marked the first time in Conte’s managerial career that he has lost three on the bounce.
In an interview on Wednesday, the Italian said he was upset to miss his January targets and felt the club is weaker after losing four players and only bringing in two.
Conte, who is known as a defensive coach, has to fix a leaking defence that has conceded nine goals in its last four league matches. In return, it has scored five times.
City, meanwhile, has scored eight in four, and only conceded once, en route to taking 13 out of a possible 15 points from its last five matches.
In other matches, Liverpool has a chance to put pressure on City when it hosts Norwich tomorrow (11pm). Newly crowned world club champion Chelsea plays Crystal Palace at the same time.
Manchester United faces bitter rival Leeds, away on Sunday (10pm).
FIXTURES (Malaysian time)
SATURDAY
West Ham vs Newcastle (8.30pm)
Arsenal vs Brentford (11pm)
Brighton vs Burnley (11pm)
Liverpool vs Norwich (11pm)
Southampton vs Everton (11pm)
Aston Villa vs Watford (11pm)
Crystal Palace vs Chelsea (11pm)
SUNDAY
Manchester City vs Tottenham (1.30am)
Leeds vs Manchester United (10pm)
MONDAY
Wolves vs Leicester (12.30am)
