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Will Tottenham’s Inconsistency Come Back to Haunt Them In Top Four Race



After 12 rounds of Premier League action, Tottenham are the top goalscorers in the division and have just thrashed reigning champions Manchester City 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium.

Yet, just a fortnight prior, Spurs lost 1-2 at home to relegation-threatened Ipswich Town. So, will the real Tottenham please stand up!? Or will their inconsistency ultimately prove to be their downfall in 2024/25?

The Four Way Dance


Only the top four teams in the Premier League are guaranteed a place in next season’s Champions League, and how Tottenham would love to be in that contingent.

The Premier League odds suggest their hopes of winning the title, even at this early stage of the campaign, are over: Spurs are priced at +8000, compared to Liverpool’s -175.

But the Premier League top 4 odds are more respectful of their chances, pricing Tottenham at +275 to finish in the Champions League places, with only Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, and Chelsea available at shorter.

It’s a status that reflects Spurs’ remarkable inconsistency under Ange Postecoglou: they can be outstanding one week, and well below-par the next.

It will be three seasons at the end of 2024/25 since they finished inside the much-desired top four, missing out by just two points in Postecoglou’s debut campaign last term. So, can Spurs push on this time around and take that final step?

November to Remember

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Making any bold predictions about this Tottenham team can be foolhardy, as the month of November has proven.

They started it by thrashing Aston Villa – the team that pipped them to fourth in 2023/24 – by a scoreline of 4-1. After a sluggish start, Spurs hit full flight and were impossible to stop; their dizzying attacking play franked by a brace from Dominic Solanke.

Just four days later, they headed to Turkey for a Europa League tie against Galatasaray. Postecoglou decided to make some changes to his starting eleven, resting key players and giving game time to those on the fringes. But it was a decision that backfired in a 2-3 defeat.

That seemed to unsettle Spurs, because next time out they produced an uninspiring performance against Ipswich Town.

Despite enjoying home advantage over their newly-promoted opponents, and monopolizing possession 66%-34%, Tottenham struggled to contain the Tractor Boys. In the end, Spurs had 17 shots to Ipswich’s eight, and yet it was the visitors that topped the big chances created count four to two. So, it was no surprise that they ran out 2-1 winners.

Having lost back-to-back games, surely Tottenham were on a hiding to nothing against the reigning Premier League champions, Manchester City? However, such theories didn’t account for the mind-boggling unpredictability of Spurs, who simply played the Cityzens off the park.

James Maddison was somewhere back to his brilliant best, netting twice in a game in which Tottenham created 2.51 of xG from just nine shots – highlighting the efficiency of their offensive play.

So can they finish in the Premier League’s top four this season? Who knows… not until the real Tottenham identify themselves, that is.


- Tottenham Hotspur lineups



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