Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur- Sunday 15th May- Anfield (17:00)
With Manchester United all but certain clinching their record 19th title at the expensive of Chelsea last weekend, our focus turns to the vital Champions League spot. With the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspurs all gunning for that crucial 4th place finish.
Liverpool started this season in awful fashion as they were stuck in the relegation zone and struggled to compete with the so call “Big Guns” of the league. They parted ways with Spanish manager Rafa Benitez and opted for Englishmen Roy Hodgson. There was a sense of great things to come as Liverpool went back to the old days of having a traditional English manager. This was far from the case as Roy Hodgson could not steer Liverpool out of danger and a string of poor results eventually cost the Englishmen his job. Liverpool then turned their attention to Anfield legend Kenny Dalglish to take the hot seat, some doubted the Scotsmen’s ability as they felt his been out the game too long. Kenny Dalglish was quick to in store faith amongst the fans as he put together a host of positive results, none better than beating their bitter rivals Man United 3-0. Since then Liverpool have found their feet again and have recently come off an emphatic 5-2 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage. They now stand a great chance of making that vital 4th spot which will enter them into the qualifiers of the Champions League. Kenny Dalglish admits it will be difficult but would be an astonishing achievement regarding the start they had to the campaign.
Tottenham Hotspurs have had a rocky season this term but yet still prove to be in contention for that lucrative 4th spot. Harry “Houdini” Redknapp has once again proved his greatness as he has almost single handedly transformed Tottenham in to genuine title contenders and has brought back the days of the 80’s as Tottenham were a dominant force. Redknapp helped Tottenham qualify for the Champions League and they proved to be a real surprise package as they qualified top of their group and all more surprising beating current champions Inter Milan on route. They then played AC Milan in the last 16 and over came that hurdle, at this stage football fans started to stand up and take note of this Tottenham squad. They eventually went down to Spanish giants Real Madrid, but can be highly impressed with their efforts in what was their debut in the Champions League. Those performances only increased faith amongst the team and they have managed to stay in the running for their important 4th spot. The likes of Rafael van der Vaart, Luka Modrić and Gareth Bale have all played a vital part in leading Tottenham to higher heights this campaign. Tottenham received a major blow in their last encounter as Gareth Bale was stretched off with damaged ligaments and looks set to miss the remaining two games of the season.
This will be a tight and heated encounter as both teams are vying for that important Champions League spot. Liverpool should just have enough to nip the win. Their home advantage should play in their favour.
