With six games of their Premier League season left to play, Ange Postecoglou still has a great chance of getting Tottenham Hotspur back into the Champions League next season.
Aston Villa’s win over Arsenal at the weekend not only dented the Gunners hopes of landing the title for the first time in 20 years, but it kept them three points ahead of the Lilywhites, albeit with one more game played.
Unai Emery’s side also have the distraction of the Europa Conference League which could well play right into Spurs’ hands in the final few English top-flight games.
Ange Postecoglou could drop a Tottenham regular
Villa actually play twice more before Tottenham’s next game – a North London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
It could mean that Postecoglou’s side go into that game some nine points behind the team directly above them, in what would then become a must-win match for both Spurs and Arsenal.
The atmosphere will be insane, but one player that might not get to experience it is January loan signing Timo Werner.
Although he’s done reasonably well since signing from RB Leipzig – WhoScored note he has two goals and three assists in 784 minutes of Premier League action – Jay Bothroyd can’t seen him getting a game when Richarlison returns.
“I feel like, if Richarlison is back, Son will go to the left, he (Werner) will be out of the team,” he said on the The Optus Sport Football Podcast.
“And I think they will be better going forward because then you’ve got some players that you can play link-up play with, that you can work with.”
It’s a harsh assessment, but the manager isn’t likely to keep the Brazilian benched if the team need to score goals to bring them closer to Villa in the final stages.
Werner has been good but not great and when it comes down to it, the Lilywhites can’t afford to have any passengers in the final few matches.
The other question mark of course is whether any permanent move in the summer could be curtailed because of what may happen over the course of the next few weeks.
