Tottenham’s Schedule Changes Due to Europa League
Tottenham’s April and May schedule, should they reach the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals of the Europa League, will become a gauntlet of 12 matches in 47 days.
In light of the Europa League’s round of 16 draw concluding hours ago, the thought of facing a tough opponent in Borussia Dortmund gives fans a rush of excitement. Because supporters get to see how Tottenham matches up against one of Germany’s biggest clubs.
But on the other end, there’s also a sense of dread, as the most difficult opponent that Spurs could have been paired with became a reality. And it will quickly arrive in just 13 days.
However, instead of dwelling on Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League, some big changes have affected Tottenham’s schedule in the Premier League. Spurs’ will now need to be on their A-game with a difficult run to win two trophies, because things are only going to get much harder from here on out.
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The current changes to Tottenham’s Premier League schedule, which the London Evening Standard have wrote about, looks at seven fixtures that have been altered.
Three of which will see Spurs play on a Monday night for three consecutive weeks starting on April 18. Depending on whether or not Tottenham are still playing in the Europa League and are a part of the last eight teams remaining, this will be tricky to navigate around.
Now another thing to consider is how the Premier League table shakes up at the end of March and the beginning of April. Because as is, the Europa League’s quarter-finals are sandwiched alongside Liverpool and Manchester United.
The first leg takes place on April 7, just five days after playing Liverpool on the road. And the second leg will be held on April 14, four days after hosting Manchester United at White Hart Lane.
From here, it gets more difficult because two out of Tottenham’s three Monday night games are on the road.
First, Tottenham will travel to the Britannia Stadium to face Stoke City before hosting West Bromwich Albion at White Hart Lane on Monday, April 25 (their second to last home game of the season) before heading to Stamford Bridge to play Chelsea on Monday, May 2.
To make matters worse, assuming that Spurs beat Dortmund in the round of 16, the semi-finals of the Europa League are set to take place on April 28 and May 5 — before and after a London derby against Chelsea.
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Of course, no one expected that playing in the Premier League and Europa League at the same time was supposed to be a breeze. Because it’s not supposed to be.
But at the same time, Tottenham could potentially face a gauntlet of 12 games in 47 days starting from April 2nd and ending on May 18th. Which would be the Europa League final, three days after the Premier League’s final fixture on May 15 against Newcastle at St James’ Park.
This doesn’t even include the last match of February against Swansea City and the entire month of March.
In the end though, however Mauricio Pochettino decides to handle his 25-man squad, he has the benefit of having a deep bench with plenty of depth at his disposal. So certainly, Tottenham can go all the way in two competitions.
It’ll just be a grueling test for everyone involved is all.
Next: Spurs Drawn Against Borussia Dortmund in Europa League
Mauricio Pochettino has often said that Tottenham faced tough periods in their season during certain stages of this campaign. Back when they were still playing in four competitions, then three and now two.
But in reality, this right here, if Spurs are in the quarter-finals of the Europa League, this will really be a tough period to get through.
Points can very well be dropped and the focus of what’s more important ultimately lies in who Tottenham are drawn in the quarter-finals if they reach that point and how the Premier League table looks like at the end of March and the beginning of April.