Tottenham Hotspur – Has The 2018/19 Fixture List Been Kind To Us?

Following a season away from White Hart Lane, Tottenham Hotspur will begin the 2018/19 season with the incentive of their new 62,062-seat stadium in what they will hope will herald a new era of financial power.

After a third consecutive top-three finish, Spurs will once again represent England in the Champions League and hope to better their fantastic European campaign last year in which they topped a group featuring Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, before succumbing to a stunning second-half comeback in their last-16 tie against Italian giants Juventus.

Despite the club’s notable evolution under Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs still need to develop a winning culture in major competitions like the Premier League and Champions League. Remarkably, it has now been over ten years since the north London club last lifted a trophy and their Argentinean boss has stated that they must “take risks” if they are to elevate themselves to the next level.

Like every other club in the top-flight last season, Tottenham were powerless to stop the Manchester City juggernaut waltzing to the title in a remarkable, record-breaking campaign. However, Spurs have spent considerably less than any of their top-six rivals in the past two seasons which only serves to emphasise the impressive job that Pochettino has done since taking over in 2014. Having amassed 294 points during his time in charge, the 46-year-old’s failure to land some silverware suggests he may have taken Spurs as far as he can on their current budget.

On the other hand, they will go into the new season in a far more secure position than they ended the last, with Pochettino and talisman Harry Kane having both committed to new long-term deals. Danish playmaker Christian Eriksen and exciting English youngster Dele Alli are expected to follow suit. If there is a change in ambition, could this be the year that we finally see Spurs challenging for the title? We assess their fixture list and highlight their key games.

Tottenham start their campaign in a repeat of last season’s away trip to Newcastle – five of the club’s opening seven fixtures are away, which includes a serious test of their title credentials at Old Trafford. The first home game at their new stadium will take place on September 15 against Liverpool, meaning they will play Premier League newboys Fulham at Wembley on August 18.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side will hope for a joyous Advent Sunday as they face arch-rivals Arsenal the day preceding, while the reverse fixture is scheduled for March 2 – just two days after they travel to Stamford Bridge. The Christmas period has been kind to Spurs with Arsenal on the first day of December their only meeting against a fellow top six side in the entire month. Boxing Day sees them host Bournemouth and they will end the campaign on their home turf against Everton in May.

A daunting encounter in late April at the Emirates could prove to be pivotal if they are still in contention for England’s biggest prize, but overall the fixture list has been very kind to Pochettino’s men. Now is the time to change mentality and aim for more than simply putting pressure on’ the clubs that actually win the silverware and finishing above Arsenal.