Tottenham Should Take a Look Over Their Shoulder

Tottenham’s hopes of pushing for a spot in the Premier League top four hit its last and biggest speed bump at just about this time last season.

Prior to Tottenham’s visit to Old Trafford on March 15th, it seemed as if the two clubs were destined to fight up through the end of the season for that crucial fourth place spot behind Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City. The concluding matches of the seasons seemed to favor Tottenham, with United set to face off against all three of those teams already ensconced in the Champions League places. Tottenham, meanwhile, had only to get past City and a handful of other teams ranging from relegation fodder to also-rans.

The Ides of March could thus prove decisive for Mauricio Pochettino’s first season as Tottenham’s manager. A win could make an already easy-looking run even easier, while making United’s run look all that much harder.

Unfortunately for Tottenham, the opposite came to pass. Louis Van Gaal outmaneuvered Tottenham on the day and took a vital 3-0 win over their rivals. It was the third of a six game winning streak that all but secured their place in the Champions League for the 2015/16 season.

Tottenham, meanwhile, never seemed to recover. Wins over Leicester City, Everton and Hull City weren’t enough to offset frustrating draws against Burnley and Southampton and devastating losses to Aston Villa, Stoke and City.

They would finish fifth and thus earn their fifth consecutive Europa League spot. It was a lackluster end to an otherwise promising season for Pochettino’s re-worked Spurs.

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While the details are different ahead of this Sunday’s match against United at White Hart Lane, the implications could be just as dire.

Tottenham are smarting after their 1-1 draw with Liverpool saw them fall behind ever farther from Leicester City in the Premier League title race. They are currently seven points behind the leaders with six matches left to play. The dream of a first English title since 1960/61 isn’t dead by any means, but it’s certainly farther away that it looked Saturday morning.

That Tottenham are even able to be disappointed by sustaining their grip on second place says boat loads about the team’s improvement this season. Pochettino has delivered a young, vibrant and productive team well ahead of schedule, and were it not for the unlikely rise of Leicester it wouldn’t at all be unreasonable to imagine Tottenham cruising to the trophy over the next month and a half.

Such well-earned ambition shouldn’t distract from the fact that there is more than just the title left to play for. A spot in the Champions League might not be as glorious as a long-awaited trophy, but it is now the absolutely minimum expectation for this team. It is therefore vital that Tottenham keep one eye over their shoulders to make sure they are able to fend off those teams that might jeopardize a top four finish – teams like Manchester United.

Just as last year, it appears as if Van Gaal is engineering a last season push in quality. That push has already claimed scalps from City and Everton is recent weeks, and there’s nothing that United fans would like more than to knock Tottenham off their high horse.

Pochettino cannot allow that to happen. Assuming Chelsea has written this season off, this match against United is the toughest Tottenham will have through the season’s conclusion on May 15th. The last time these two sides played each other was on the season opener. There, Tottenham were very unfortunate to lose off of a Kyle Walker own-goal. Prior to and after that bit of poor luck, Spurs had the better of Van Gaal’s side. Though much has changed since that match in August, Tottenham are still the superior team. They need to be reminded of that frequently in the run up to the reverse fixture.

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Another shock loss like last March’s would mean that United come within six points of Tottenham with a game in hand. Depending on the result of West Ham-Arsenal, Tottenham could find its lead in second down to a mere point. While the dream of catching and surpassing Leicester steals headlines, Tottenham’s ability to hold onto a Champions League place is the much more meaningful narrative from this point forward.