Is there a real shot at the title?
Tottenham Hotspur have been on a record winning streak at home of late and Pochettino’s men have deservedly earned the shot at the title they can sniff at the moment. We had already seen the shadow of it last season that saw the birth of the stars, who have taken the Premier League by storm this season.
Chelsea, playing Manchester United next, where they visit Jose Mourinho’s castle, who has surely made grand plans to welcome them, cannot afford any slip-ups. A possibility of dropping points is very much there, in which the gap closes down to less than four points. And one look at their respective fixtures will clarify that Spurs winning the league is no more a fanciful thinking.
Among the last six fixtures for Chelsea, Conte’s man will be facing Southampton, Everton and West Bromwich Albion away from home, who possess sufficient quality to frustrate the biggest of opponents. Tottenham, on the other hand, are having Arsenal and Manchester United among the tougher opponents, at their home.
Jack Wilshere’s impact
Jack Wilshere was booed by Spurs fans every time he got the ball quite expectantly (remember the chant after Arsenal won the FA Cup?). The Arsenal loanee was withdrawn in the first half of the game with an injury and Bournemouth’s display further dwindled.
The build up to the match often saw Wilshere pitted against Dele Alli with Spurs fans boasting of the superiority of their star midfielder. The Arsenal midfielder’s impact was spot on from the first whistle. He won the second most number of tackles for the Cherries in the little time he played and his ball distribution was magnificent.
It will be difficult to say if Bournemouth would have gone down so badly had Wilshere kept his place alongside Harry Arter, but his abrupt departure surely made a huge difference for Bournemouth.
Harry Kane’s timely return
It seems nothing could go wrong for Tottenham at the moment. Their star striker made a timely return to the side just before to the crucial FA Cup clash against Chelsea next weekend and if there was any doubt over his rusty form that the injury might have developed, it was flushed out by his goal.
The Lilywhites have often been criticised on their over-reliance on Kane and Pochettino did just prove all his critics wrong. Thanks to Heung Min-Son, Spurs have successfully fended off some tricky fixtures with wins in the absence of Kane.
Tottenham are really blessed to have two of the most prolific scorers in the league at the moment, who can take each other’s place with ease. With both Kane and Son getting their name on the scoresheet, Spurs would be confident of reaching the FA Cup final.
