Spurs currently sit two points back from Leicester City at the top of the Premier League table. There are 11 games to go. All of a sudden, whispers are beginning to pop up about how Spurs might actually reach the summit.
Spurs fans in the modern era have been trained to expect the worst, and many supporters still do, but this season feels different. And not only does it have a unique feel to it emotionally, the results on the pitch seem to demand a more positive outlook on Spurs’ football.
It almost feels like beating a dead horse at this point, but the old sports cliché is seeming to hold true again this year: “defense wins championships”. Tottenham have the best defense in the premier league and it is on that balance that they will make their best case for hoisting Premier League silverware at the end of the season. Michael Caley, a football analytics expert, tweeted out his latest Premier League title projection and had Spurs at a 32% chance to win the League, Arsenal at 31%, and Leicester at 29%.
When he then explained on the Cartilage Free Captain podcast, he essentially broke it down to say that the margin of error for points accumulated was so razor thin that there is a chance that this year’s title could be decided on goal differential. As it stands right now, Spurs are +28, Leicester are +20, and Arsenal are +17. Suffice it to say that Tottenham have a relatively comfortable lead on their other two title contenders, and if Spurs can continue their strong defensive form, the Premier League title is within reach.
Even Claudio Ranieri has come out to say that Tottenham are currently favorites to win the title. It’s clever mind games from the wily Italian and certainly makes for good Leicester chalk board material, but the fact of the matter is that he is saying it publicly. Ranieri believes that Tottenham not only have a legitimate shot at winning a title, but believes that they are the favorites to do so.
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Mauricio Pochettino and Tottenham have been reluctant at times to say it, but it is exciting to see another manager that will. This is the farthest thing from a criticism of Pochettino (he has his own mind games that he needs to play) but seeing Ranieri state it publicly certainly shows the respect that he and everyone else is beginning to finally have for Tottenham. And they deserve every ounce of it.
This week will be very informative as to how the top of the table will shake out. With Spurs playing away to West Ham and then home to Arsenal, positive results in these two matches can do a lot to put distance between the two north London rivals, with the potential to make it a two team race come this Sunday.
It’s important to not overlook Spurs’ east London rivals as well, but it is impossible to talk about the upcoming fixtures without paying specific attention to the North London Derby. With Ray Parlour being quoted in the Daily Mail as saying that Tottenham are “the more complete team” and the Gunners dropping three points to Manchester United, Arsenal could be in a crisis of confidence at the moment.
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Especially if Arsenal’s match against Swansea goes poorly on Wednesday, Spurs could have a major opportunity to crush the hopes of the red end of north London. The fact of the matter still remains, this Saturday’s version of the North London Derby could be the biggest and most consequential in quite a long time, and Spurs should be confident heading into it.
Eleven Premier League games is a long time. If there is any fan base who knows not to count their chickens before they hatch, it’s Tottenham. But this is the business end of the Premier League season. Many outsiders are finally talking about Spurs and Premier League glory, so why not start to dream just a little bit?