Tottenham vs Portsmouth for 7th place and Europe

As Tottenham prepare to welcome Arsenal in their unique way at White Hart Lane, there’s a bigger battle going on for Tottenham – the jostling of places for Europe.

Currently, Tottenham’s most realistic shot of going into Europe is to overtake Portsmouth, who are in 7th place.

Here’s a look at the remaining fixtures of both teams.

Tottenham

Tottenham have a good chance of overcoming Portsmouth as long as they can keep their nerve during their next two away games.

Current Status

Position: 8th
Games Played: 33
Points: 49
Goal Difference: -1

Remaining Fixtures

Tottenham v Arsenal, 12:45 (Saturday, 21 April 2007)

Middlesbrough v Tottenham, 15:00 (Saturday, 28 April 2007)

Charlton v Tottenham, 20:00 (Monday, 07 May 2007)

Tottenham v Blackburn, 20:00 (Thursday, 10 May 2007)

Tottenham v Man City, 15:00 (Sunday, 13 May 2007)

Portsmouth

Current Status

Portsmouth have the tougher run-in but they have shown an ability to get stuck in and their win against Manchester United will give them hope for the Liverpool and Arsenal home games.

Position: 7th
Games Played: 34
Points: 49
Goal Difference: +5

Remaining Fixtures

Aston Villa v Portsmouth, 16:00 (Sunday, 22 April 2007)

Portsmouth v Liverpool, 15:00 (Saturday, 28 April 2007)

Everton v Portsmouth, 15:00 (Saturday, 05 May 2007)

Portsmouth v Arsenal, 15:00 (Sunday, 13 May 2007)

Tottenham vs Portsmouth – The Run-in

Martin Jol says that Tottenham need 4 more games to get 7th spot. I assume he thinks that Portsmouth cannot get more than 11 points – and I think 4 wins will allow Spurs to get to 7th with some distance. Portsmouth will have it very tough in their last four games – Aston Villa and Everton are very strong at home, and while Liverpool can be listless away both them and Arsenal have a lot to play for and their own little battle for third spot could go down to the wire, so both can be expected to push hard for wins.

Best case scenario for Portsmouth – a win against Aston Villa, a draw against Everton, a win against Liverpool and a draw against Arsenal. That gives them 8 points.

Best case scenario for Tottenham – wins in their last 4 games, and a draw against Arsenal.

13 points.

Martin Jol was right, I guess 🙂