Tottenham Hotspur are back in action after the lengthy September and October international break this coming Saturday afternoon against a big opponent in Manchester United, and while the Red Devils have been disappointing and stuck in the bottom half of the table after being seemingly resurgent under Michael Carrick last season in sewing up third place, Tottenham are dead last in the league and an even bigger disappointment.
Spurs have both this fixture and rivals Chelsea at the end of the month, so after failing to beat the likes of Nottingham Forest, Everton, and Aston Villa in recent weeks, Spurs are now tasked with getting their first win of the season against two huge clubs.
Tottenham have to beat Crystal Palace and Coventry
But the thing is, these actually aren't their biggest games coming up. As Tottenham Hotspur legend Chris Waddle recently explained, via Chris Cowlin, the winnable fixtures against Premier League newcomers Coventry and local rivals Crystal Palace are actually bigger pressure points for embattled Spurs manager Roberto De Zerbi:
“They've got too much quality not to (turn things around), so I wouldn't be surprised if Tottenham qualify for a Europa League place. I don't see any reason why they can't put a string of results together and get up the league. Everybody's beating each other, apart from basically the top two or three. Everybody else is very beatable, let's be honest. There's no reason Tottenham can't go on a run and finish in the top half comfortably. Realistically, if you looked at the fixtures at the start of the season and you saw Palace and Coventry at home, you would have said that's a decent run. Every game's hard, we know that, but you would think these are the type of games you win to keep you up at the top fighting for the title or fighting for European places. I'm not having a go at Palace or Coventry, but you couldn't ask for two better home games. If Tottenham have got anything about them, these are the two games which really should kick-start their season."
Waddle isn't being insulting at all when he brings up Palace and Coventry in this way, because these are two games Tottenham have to win. Not just draw, but win. Spurs can slump against Man United and Chelsea, because, well, that would be no different as they were last season, and while those would be disappointing results and the Blues and Red Devils aren't exactly great teams this season, if Tottenham can't beat Coventry on Oct. 19 or the Eagles on the 31st, then they are in even direr straits.
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