Looking at the Premier League standings at the international break, it is easy to forget that Tottenham are the only side in the league that have yet to taste defeat. Spurs return from their break five points behind leaders Liverpool, while they are three points adrift of north London rivals Arsenal who currently occupy the fourth spot in the table.
“Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghe” (CC BY 2.0) by Ben Sutherland
The moderate start in terms of points accumulated has ensured that Spurs have gone under the radar when it comes to discussions over who will lift the title this season. All four of the teams that sit above Mauricio Pochettino’s side have all been tipped up as title contenders, however, every one of them have suffered at least one defeat so far this campaign.
That is something which can’t be said for Spurs at this stage of the season. Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool have all tried to inflict defeat onto Pochettino’s men but have all failed. City were well beaten at White Hart Lane where the 2-0 scoreline in favour of the home side did not quite tell the full story of the game, while Spurs were unfortunate to come away from the Emirates Stadium with nothing more than a point.
Tottenham look an excellent bet at 20/1 in the football betting to win the Premier League title this season. If the Lilywhites had just turned a couple of those draws into wins, those odds would be much shorter than they are right now.
Manchester City, at the time of writing, top the outright market at 2/1 but have struggled to stop conceding goals with a back four that looks far from comfortable at the moment. Liverpool, have arguably been the most impressive side in the campaign so far and are second best in the betting at 9/4, however, it remains to be seen how long Jurgen Klopp’s gung-ho approach will continue to see the Merseyside club pick up positive results.
“Harry Kane” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by enviro warrior
Pochettino will be hoping to get Harry Kane back 100% fit again as soon as possible, which will come as a huge boost to his squad. The England international was sent back to his club in the build up to England’s friendly against Spain at Wembley to allow him extra time to get back to full fitness.
Kane scored 25 Premier League goals last season therefore any team would suffer without a player who contributed as much as the England striker in the 2015/16 campaign.
Spurs have work to do if they are to qualify into the last 16 of the Champions League this season but if they don’t make it through, it certainly won’t harm their chances of Premier League success.
Pochettino does not have the luxury of a huge squad to play with therefore it is very difficult to compete domestically and in Europe. The aim, of course, will be to make the knockout stages of the Champions League but if they don’t, and if they avoid another arduous Europa League tilt, they can concentrate fully on winning the title where they are very much in the running this season.