Ahead of Sunday’s trip to Liverpool, Tottenham manager Igor Tudar claimed in a news conference that some of his players cannot manage the pressure of battling relegation. The club is edging towards relegation, and is one point above the bottom three with nine matches left. They haven’t won their last 11 Premier League games, which goes back to last year.
Facing Liverpool in their upcoming fixture, it is hard to imagine Igor Tudor’s side getting three points. A draw could be possible if they fix their defensive loopholes, as evidenced by their 2-5 thrashing at the hands of Atletico Madrid in Spain recently. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky was also substituted in the 17th minute after making two errors that led to goals. But it doesn’t look like they can fix it, as time is running out.
Injury crisis
The absence of creative attackers James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, due to their respective knee injuries, has also made matters worse. The duo haven’t played a single minute of football this season. Even Mohammed Kudus and Rodrigo Bentancur are out injured.
Mickey van de Ven is suspended. Cristian Romero and Joao Palinha will miss the Liverpool game due to concussion protocols. Tudor also revealed Yves Bissouma is injured.
Can Tottenham survive relegation battle?
Spurs’ fixture against Nottingham on March 22 will be decisive in the relegation battle, and the winner will have the better chance of survival.
Spurs also have a favourable run of fixtures after the Forest game. Meanwhile, Forest have a tough run of fixtures, with games against Chelsea, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Bournemouth in their last four. Meanwhile, Tottenham will face Sunderland, Brighton, Wolves, Aston Villa, Leeds, Chelsea and Everton in ther remaining fixtures after the Forest match.
Spotlight on Igor Tudor
Tudor is also facing plenty of backlash, and his interim reign has started with four straight defeats. Relegation rivals West Ham have taken 13 points from their last eight games, and Nottingham Forest have managed 10 from their last nine. Tottenham have registered only 33 points from their last 38 Premier League fixtures, and 20 from their last 20.
On Friday, Tudor hinted that his players are crumbling under pressure. “Some of them, they cannot manage, for sure. Some of them, you arrive and you can help them”, he said.
“So sometimes you cannot do anything, but most of the time you can do even small changes, small help. But also what I always like to say to the players, Don’t be the victim.”
