On top of their dismal form and another demoralising loss this week, we are, instead, fresh and enlivened with the news of Dalglish's and Clarke's three-year contracts. Put this against the further backdrop of Tottenham's ever worsening injury list, Anfield being pretty much Spurs' least favourite choice of destination for a place to want to go if they are in need of some points, means that Anfield will be rocking on Sunday afternoon as we look to finish this topsy-turvy season with a Europa League spot, which we will achieve with a game to spare, by beating what is now our only rivals for 5th place; Tottenham.
Spurs are still a decent side, and we cannot be complacent. This game or us is a must not lose, rather than a must win, as the two-point gap we have, plus a superior goal difference that has been achieved through our recent results, means that a draw against Spurs, then a draw away to Villa, would leave Spurs needing to win at home against Birmingham by 13 goals to go above us on goal difference.
(Assuming we don't high-score-draw with Villa by more than about 3-3, 12-0 for a superior goals scored record, could suffice.)
For Spurs however, to have European qualification back in their own hands, they must beat us on Sunday. But whilst a win for us would mean the end for them, in terms of European football, as we would qualify instead, a win for Spurs on Sunday, still means that they would need to beat Birmingham to be sure of 5th, as anything less would leave them vulnerable to us overtaking them with a win against Villa.
This seems even more unlikely for Spurs, given their current injury list (per the BBC):
Doubtful: Palacios (unspecified)
Injured: Assou-Ekotto & Gallas (both hamstring), Bale & Huddlestone (both ankle), Gomes (back), Hutton (knee), Jenas (thigh), Khumalo (foot), Woodgate (calf)
With the odds stacked in our favour, we still however need to perform.
It's all set-up for a cracking game on Sunday.
No comments:
Post a Comment