Mourinho claims ‘we are smelling the opportunity’ for Premier League top four spot

Tottenham Hotspur are now just four points away from the top four, with Chelsea currently occupying the fourth position in the table.

This comes after Mourinho was 12 points adrift when he first took over back in late November, with Pochettino’s men struggling during the opening weeks.

Chelsea are now on 41 points, with Sheffield United next on 39 points (having played an extra game), Spurs are on 37, Wolves and Everton are on 36 (having played an extra game each), and Man United are on 35 points.

Things are tight in the race for that fourth place spot and the Champions League qualification it promises, with Chelsea taking on Man United on Monday, as well as Spurs next weekend.

Jose Mourinho has now claimed that Tottenham can smell the opportunity to overtake his old club Chelsea into fourth, but he insists that others are doing the same.

Mourinho named Spurs, Man United, Wolves, Sheffield, and Arsenal as challengers for that top-four spot.

He said (BBC): “First of all, I see much more clubs than people think.

“Sometimes it looks like, because Chelsea are the fourth and sometimes Tottenham is in fifth and Manchester United are the sixth, we are smelling the opportunity.

“I think people forget there are big contenders – Wolves, Sheffield United, Manchester United, even Arsenal, so it’s not just about what’s the distance between us and Chelsea.

“With that gap, it was going to very difficult. This difference of points allows the others to be able to make mistakes and they still keep a good situation.

“In our case mistakes, especially from now, mistakes will keep us away from that. It’s a big gap but we are going to be there.”

Mourinho was speaking before the news of Man City’s UEFA ban broke, with reports now suggesting that fifth place could also qualify for the Champions League if the Citizens lose their appeal (Standard).

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