Joao Palhinha has shared his prediction for Tottenham Hotspur’s huge game against Everton on Sunday in pursuit of Premier League survival.
Tottenham Hotspur have another disappointing night to add to their already sizeable collection of poor results from this season.
West Ham’s loss away at Newcastle gifted Spurs an opportunity to leave their atrocious season behind and guarantee Premier League safety with a draw at Stamford Bridge.
But for not the first time this year Spurs failed to capitalise on their chances, instead producing a fairly uninspiring performance in a 2-1 loss to Chelsea.
Joao Palhinha gives his verdict on the Chelsea performance
In an interview given to Sky after Spurs’ defeat, Joao Palhinha gave his thoughts on the match and the fight awaiting Tottenham on the final day of the season.
“We more than played well. We needed the result to finish this thing that we have been living for a long time. This team needed a different result today. I think we deserved it,” said Palhinha.
“I don’t think I need to speak too much about this game because we wanted to win. I think we deserved more. It’s a big frustration.
Tottenham managed to create 1.72 xG to Chelsea’s 0.7, meaning they created the better chances during the encounter, which explains Palhinha’s sentiment.
What guarantee did Palhinha give to Spurs fans ahead of Tottenham’s biggest game in years?
“We have to [use the defeat as fuel for final game]. That’s the reality. We cannot think too much about the result,” Palhinha said, looking ahead to Spurs’ home game against Everton on Championship Sunday
“It’s been a tough season for us with a lot of things happening inside the club. The reality is we have a final on Sunday. We want to keep Tottenham in the Premier League, and we will go with everything.”
To guarantee safety, Tottenham will need at least a draw from their match against Everton. A single point would put Tottenham at 39 points. A West Ham win against Leeds in their last game of the season would put them on equal points to Spurs, but Tottenham’s much superior goal difference would guarantee their survival in that event. A West Ham win and a Tottenham loss would guarantee Spurs’ relegation.
Even then, Palhinha is optimistic that Spurs will be a Premier League club next season.
“We will have Tottenham in the Premier League next season, I don’t have any doubt about that because it’s where the club belongs. Let’s go with everything.”