Bookies write off a top-four finish but there’s reason for Spurs fans to believe

It doesn’t seem long ago pundits were referring to Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham as genuine contenders for the title this season. Holding their own in the fight for top spot, Spurs were confidently trading blows with the likes of Liverpool and Leicester.

All that changed. The North Londoners have dropped out of the top-four, sinking to a lowly eighth place behind West Ham United and Everton. Fans may be locked out of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but they are certainly making their feelings clear on the collapse.

The best betting sites for Premier League football have Mourinho as favourite to be the next manager to lose his job, known in the industry as winning the sack race. Odds makers don’t appear to hold much hope for Spurs rescuing the campaign, battling back for the top-four finish needed to ensure a return to Champions League football.

Deflated Tottenham suffer an unwanted treble

After three league defeats on the bounce and knocked out of the FA Cup at the fifth round it’s clear where traders are coming from. Tottenham’s unwanted treble began when losing 3-1 at home to last season’s champions Liverpool in January, followed by a disastrous 1-0 loss at Brighton.

February didn’t start any better, Chelsea leaving the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with all three points thanks to a winning goal from Jorginho.

A deflated Spurs were able to stop the rot with an important 2-0 win over relegation-threatened West Brom. That did little to paper over the cracks. The stats don’t lie and after 22 games Tottenham are eighth with their form reading 10 wins against six draws and six defeats. 36 points means they are 14 off the pace set by Man City and four behind Liverpool in fourth.

Unbeaten in three against leaders

With plenty of football still to be played no one connected to the Lilywhites will be willing to chuck in the towel just yet, let alone the Special One. There’s reason to be confident heading into a crucial run of fixtures.

Aiming for back-to-back wins, Tottenham travel to leaders Manchester City on Valentines weekend but there will be no love there. Spurs are under pressure to get something from the Etihad and the recent head-to-head between the two suggest that’s possible.

Goals from Heung Min-Son and Giovani Lo Celso secured an impressive win over Man City in London back in November and that victory means Spurs are unbeaten against the Cityzens in three. Followers of the trends may be interested to learn each of the last two vs Man City ended in 2-0 Spurs wins. That 2-0 over WBA last weekend is now a little more interesting.

Strong defence offers hope

On closer inspection of the league table it’s noted the team some sections of the media would have you believe are stumbling from one disaster to the next have one of the best defensive records in the Premier League. They conceded just 22 goals in their first 22 games. Only Man City have a better record with 14 leaked.

In the five games after that trip to Manchester, Tottenham face three fellow London sides in West Ham, Crystal Palace, and Arsenal. Dipping back into the records, Spurs haven’t lost to the Hammers in three games, are unbeaten versus the Eagles in over six years in the league and haven’t tasted defeat in the North London derby since December 2018.

The other two teams involved in the upcoming five is Burnley and Southampton with both games played at home. Football fans will know that it’s the same Clarets who are involved in a relegation dogfight and a Saints stuck on a horrible losing run. Suddenly the future doesn’t look as bleak as critics suggest. Some may even see the price on Spurs to make the top-four as a slice of value.

Traders won’t hang around

For supporters who are planning a bet on Tottenham to smash their way into the top-four it may be wise to act sooner rather than later. A run of form in the coming weeks would see bookies slash their odds.