David James is of the opinion that Tottenham Hotspur do not stand any chance of finishing in the top four this season, suggesting that the battle for fourth will be between Aston Villa and Newcastle.
Tottenham are lagging behind the big guns
While it is still early days in the season, Spurs have already fallen behind in the race for Champions League qualification, with the Lilywhites having a lot of ground to make up despite a 3-1 win over Brentford on Saturday.
However, one would expect there to be plenty of twists and turns over the course of the season and Ange Postecoglou will still believe that his side can claw back the difference.
The consensus appears to be that Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool will finish in the Premier League top three once again, with the other teams expected to battle for fourth.
Will Tottenham miss out on top four?
That is something James agrees with, with the former England number one predicting that none of Tottenham, Manchester United and Chelsea will have a chance of securing the final guaranteed Champions League spot.
Instead, he predicted that Aston Villa, who finished fourth last season, and Newcastle, who finished fourth in the 2022-23 campaign, will fight it out again for that position.
James told SafestCasinoSites: “Manchester City will expect to win the league, or at least that is my expectation from them. That is simply what City do.
“Arsenal will be up there. I expect Arsenal to mount another title challenge, and I think Liverpool will do the same thing. The final position is a little bit trickier to predict.
‘I think Villa will be there, but sadly for them to do that, then they will likely have to sacrifice the domestic cup competitions, which is a shame, but that’s the reality of the standard in the Premier League these days.
“I think Newcastle could be there or thereabouts. I like the club’s start to the season, which has been achieved in less than harmonious circumstances.
“We’ve seen Eddie Howe do it before, so we know he has that in his locker. Chelsea, they have some wonderful players, but consistency will be the main issue for them. I can’t see them being consistent enough to challenge for a place in the top four over a 38-game season.
“If I’m looking at the table as things stand, I’m pretty sure the top four will come from the clubs that are currently sat in those positions, possibly even in the same order. It’s between Villa and Newcastle for the fourth-placed position.”
Foolish to rule out Tottenham at this stage of the season
It is extremely knee-jerk to say based on what we have witnessed in the first few Premier League fixtures that fourth place is between Villa and Newcastle.
There will be plenty of dramatic twists as the campaign goes on and we will get a better idea by December or January regarding how different teams are placed.