Tottenham’s season now hinges on Europa League success – opinion
Following Tottenham Hotspur’s exit from the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup, their chances of silverware hinge on the Europa League alone. But how far can they go and is it realistic to believe they can win this competition?
Two cup exits in the space of 72 hours for Tottenham
If you follow Tottenham Hotspur, you are very much aware that the club has crashed out of the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup all in the space of 72 hours.
The Carabao Cup loss came right before the FA Cup, as Spurs in shocking fashion put up one of the worst displays of the season when they lost 4-0 to Liverpool on Thursday, February 6.
They then followed that performance with another disappointing loss against Aston Villa in the fourth round of the FA Cup where they were defeated 2-1.
These two cup defeats leave the Lilywhites in just two competitions for the rest of the season – the Premier League and the Europa League.
Considering the club’s form in the League this season, we can most certainly write the Premier League off – the Lilywhites are currently 14th, 16 points away from fourth and, ten above the drop zone.
If they are to get anything from the League, they are expected to win the remaining 14 games they have left, given the form of this team, it is better to turn our focus to a competition we have a shot at winning.
Why Tottenham Hotspur must turn their attention to the Europa League
This is where the Europa League comes in – it is the only competition that Spurs still have a good chance of winning. Here is why.
The return of injured players
First, injuries. One of the reasons why Spurs have failed to gather momentum or consistency this season is because of how fatigued and stressed their players are. At the time of writing, eleven first-team players are missing from the squad.
The Tottenham boss has constantly reiterated that any club missing these many players will struggle and we have seen that this season, Manchester City is a prime example of a club missing key players and looking like a shadow of themselves.
The Europa League is set to return in March and this works in favour of Spurs, as they are expected to have all their injured players back. Should their injured players return, Spurs’ chances of winning this trophy, drastically increase.
The calibre of Europa League opposition for Tottenham
Europe is not easy and knockout ties can often work in favour of struggling teams, we have already seen Spurs go all the way to the semi-final of the Carabao Cup despite their inconsistencies in the league.
The same could happen in Europe, especially when they do not have to play Europe’s heavyweights, or the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool, Newcastle or Aston Villa.
However, it will not be an easy route to glory for Spurs as they are the lowest-ranked team in their domestic League, to have made it through to the round of 16.
Here is a breakdown of each team and their respective League position at the time of writing:
- Rangers F.C. – 2nd in Scottish Premiership
- Olympiacos F.C. -1st in Super League Greece
- Olympique Lyonnais – 6th in Ligue 1 S.S.
- Lazio – 4th in Serie A
- Eintracht Frankfurt – 3rd in Bundesliga
- Athletic Club – 4th in La Liga
- Manchester United F.C. -13th in Premier League
- Tottenham Hotspur F.C. – 14th in Premier League
Since their fate in the Premier League is sealed, the Europa League has to be the club’s main focus – it offers us a chance to get silverware and it is our only route to the Champions League next season.
The manager himself has said that the focus for Spurs is now on this competition, “This group has done an unbelievable job for two and a half months. I can’t praise them enough, playing twice a week since November. They’ll get the chance to reset now and finish the season strong.
“Europe is still very important to us, we’re still in a great spot there, and we’ll hope to get some players back over the next two weeks.”
Postecoglou needs to use games in the League, to gradually ease his injured players back to full fitness, so that we can challenge and give ourselves a shot at winning the Europa League.
If Spurs can keep their players fit then there is a good chance that they can go all the way in Europe. Remember this team on its day is capable of beating anyone, we have seen that already this season.
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