Last night saw Harry Kane and Tottenham Hotspur open the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in style, with a 2–0 win over Crystal Palace. It’s been a long, long wait, but the stadium is finally here and Spurs settled right in.
Now we head into the stretch run, with Spurs one of four teams fighting for the final two UEFA Champions League slots. The following pages are the most important for assessing the top four race.
When you look at the EPL Table you’ll see third place Spurs are one point ahead of fourth place Arsenal, although the Gunners have a game in hand. Four of Tottenham’s final EPL Fixtures will be at their new home: Huddersfield, Brighton, West Ham and Everton.
This favorable schedule is balanced out with the challenges ahead for the side this month- three clashes against Manchester City, once in the league, twice in UEFA Champions League. Meanwhile fifth place Chelsea are level on points with Arsenal, while United are two points behind in sixth place.
Harry Kane has warned the other three clubs that Spurs are truly feeling it at their new home, and they got comfortable right off the bat.
“Being on the pitch just felt like home,” Kane told The Guardian.
“In the final year at the old White Hart Lane we finished unbeaten and I hope this will be the same.”
He then spoke of the reigning champions coming to town.
“City is going to be something special as well. We have got to try to use the occasion and the atmosphere to our advantage but it will be difficult,” Kane continued.
Tottenham have plenty of doubters right now, given how they entered last night’s venue opener winless in their last five league games, with four losses.
“It has been a tough few weeks for us and we are in a battle for the top four,” Kane said.
“Obviously with United losing [at Wolves on Tuesday], it was up to us to gain a few points on them. I thought we were excellent.”
The curtain raiser of the long delayed, very ballyhooed new stadium was well worth the wait. We expect the
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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