Paul Merson has backed Aston Villa to secure fourth place finish ahead of Tottenham Hotspur, given the difficult run of fixtures that Spurs have coming up.
Last weekend’s results proved a bitter blow to Tottenham’s hopes of returning to the Champions League, with the Lilywhites falling to an embarrassing 4-0 loss at St James’ Park while Villa pulled off a surprise 2-0 win at the Emirates.
That means that Unai Emery’s men now sit three points clear of Spurs and although the North London club have a game in hand, they also have some tough fixtures coming up, having to play all three title contenders.
Following the latest results in Europe, the battle for fourth has taken even more meaning as Ange Postecoglou’s side know that a fifth-place finish will not be enough to secure passage into the Champions League.
Paul Merson backs Aston Villa to beat Tottenham to fourth
Merson admitted that he cannot back Spurs to secure fourth, given the inconsistency that they have shown over recent weeks.
When asked to predict the race for the final Champions League spot, the former Arsenal man told Sky Sports (20/04/24): “They have got the hardest games, Tottenham, they can affect the Premier League by playing the three teams, but I have just got to go with Aston Villa at the moment.
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“I have to go with Villa. I think they are so up and down at the moment, Tottenham, you know the Fulham result, they got slaughtered and then last week against Newcastle, it’s so up and down, it’s a bag of revels at the moment, they need consistency.”
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From the outside looking in, it does seem like Emery and the Villa players are more desperate to finish fourth than Tottenham are, which is understandable as a generation of Villa fans have not seen their side play in the Champions League.
The noises being made by Postecoglou suggest that he views Champions League qualification as a bonus while a lot of Spurs fans also seem to be lukewarm about playing in the competition.
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