Tottenham April 2022 Preview: Five games, five chances to catch up to Arsenal
Sunday’s home meeting with out-of-form Newcastle United will serve to get Tottenham Hotspur’s Premier League April action underway.
Spurs have bounced back from a 3-2 defeat away to Manchester United by winning their last two league matches over Aston Villa and West Ham United.
Antonio Conte’s men will look to pick up where they left off before March’s international break as they hope to crank up the pressure on fourth-placed Arsenal.
With only three points separating the sides, Tottenham will seek an all-important win over Newcastle to bolster their bid to return to the Champions League after a two-season hiatus.
Five Premier League fixtures are waiting in the wings this month as we take a look at Spurs’ chances of leapfrogging the Gunners by the end of April.
Newcastle United
Luckily for Tottenham, the Magpies have suffered a dip in form after going unbeaten in nine successive league matches.
Eddie Howe’s men have lost back-to-back Premier League games by the same 1-0 scoreline in the build-up to this fixture.
Newcastle’s drop-off could encourage Spurs’ efforts to improve their dismal seven-game Premier League H2H record in London (W2, D1, L4). Today’s late football kickoff will go a long way towards determining Tottenham’s chances of Champions League football.
Aston Villa
Despite Aston Villa’s underwhelming three-match losing league streak, Tottenham can ill-afford to underestimate Steven Gerrard’s men at Villa Park.
However, Spurs have the recent H2H stakes in Birmingham firmly on their side after beating the Lions in their last six away top-flight meetings by an aggregate scoreline of 15-3.
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion cannot catch a break in the second half of the season, with Saturday’s uneventful ‘nil-nil’ home draw with rock-bottom Norwich City pouring more misery on Graham Potter’s men.
Potter praised the Amex Stadium faithful for their reaction to Neal Maupay’s missed penalty against the Carrow Road outfit that took the Seagulls’ winless league run to seven games (via PA Media).
Brentford
Tottenham’s first Premier League London derby since their 3-1 home triumph over West Ham will pit them against bottom-half high-flyers Brentford in late April.
The Bees have won three of their last four Premier League fixtures (L1), including a stunning come-from-behind 4-1 victory away to reigning Champions League holders Chelsea on Saturday.
Leicester City
Memories of Steven Bergwijn’s historic late brace at the King Power Stadium are still fresh as Spurs could beat Leicester City in both seasonal top-flight meetings for the first time since 2018/19.
Brendan Rodgers’ side seemed destined for a victory before the Dutch winger notched up a last-gasp double to turn Tottenham’s 2-1 deficit into a memorable 3-2 win in the reverse fixture.