Tottenham Hotspur Schedule about to Get Tough and Busy
By Aaron Coe
Tottenham in Europa League
We know Tottenham did not have an easy path to get to Europa League, but clearly, they like things the hard way, as they are currently only ahead of the group on goal difference. That said, goal difference is enough, where is Tottenham win their next three matches, they will advance as the winners of Group J.
Winning the Group is important as it means you avoid other group winners and hopefully have a bit easier of a draw for the Round of 32. Spurs start those last three matches with the home side of a home-and-home series with Ludogorets. Tottenham won in Bulgaria the last time out, 1-3 when Harry Kane made his 300th appearance and scored his 200th career goal.
That is a major game as Ludogorets is the only winless team in the group, so any win by the Bulgarians within the next three games would be an upset and really play havoc on advancement. On December 3 in two weeks, Spurs travel to Linz to play LASK. Tottenham beat LASK at home and would potentially be able to at least guarantee advancement with a win, making it a big game.
The final game in the group for Tottenham is December 10 home against Royal Antwerp. Given Antwerp beat Tottenham in Belgium, Spurs should be looking for revenge and at minimum not overlooking their opponent.
The real kicker to the Europa League games is that come between the heavy Premier League schedule. Ludogorets is after Manchester City and before Chelsea. LASK is after the Blues and before Arsenal. Finally, Antwerp is the match immediately following the Gunners game, but before another London Derby – a third straight in league – against Crystal Palace.
All this is to say that the games themselves will be more difficult than just playing any of the teams at random as Jose works to rotate the squad, deal with the inevitable injuries that occur, and tries to keep the team fit for 1 game every 3.3 days for six straight weeks. All that goes back to the idea of taking it one game at a time, because there really is no other way.
Spurs in Carabao Cup
Speaking of one game at a time, that is the story of the Carabao Cup at this point. Tottenham are in the Quarterfinals and travel to Stoke City, two days before Christmas. That happens to be four days after hosting Leicester City and 3 days before going to Wolves. Talk about a festive season!
Victory against Stoke means Spurs would advance to the semi-finals and likely would see the Leeds game moved as the matches would be too close, but then again, the FA has made stranger decisions. While it would be easy to field a young side in the Cup against Stoke, it may also be the most direct, best chance at a trophy this year, so do not expect Mourinho to take it lightly.
The bottom line is Tottenham Hotspur are about to enter a big stretch of games. A stretch that may not win them any trophies this season but can certainly put them in position to make a run at them or leave them out of two competitions and longing for the 38 minutes of first place a few weeks back. We at HotspurHQ think things are going to go well and expect that come January 3, Spurs will be alive and well in 3 competitions, with a lot of things to talk about.