Champions League Contention

[Rigadon]

They'll get 6 from Burnley and Sheffield. It all hinges on Spurs v Man City I reckon.

I think we'll need another win v Liverpool or Palace (which worries me a bit if I'm honest).  Just a nagging doubt that Man City will fail to do us a favour. 

[Proposition Joe]

Of course, Spurs losing at home to Burnley is the ideal scenario, then we can finally get the deckchairs and cigars out. Though trying to visualise how that happens is quite hard to be honest.

[OCD]

They'll get 6 from Burnley and Sheffield. It all hinges on Spurs v Man City I reckon.

I think we'll need another win v Liverpool or Palace (which worries me a bit if I'm honest).  Just a nagging doubt that Man City will fail to do us a favour. 

It's a Man City team going for the title. They'll control the game and expose Spurs defensive weaknesses. I think that'll be the night that we clinch 4th spot.

[SoccerHQ]

I would say that it's a good thing we got ourselves into an incompetence-off with actual Tottenham Hotspur.

The trouble is, the most likely league results in the next round of games are a Spurs win and a Villa defeat. If that happens, it really is going to be twitchy arse syndrome. We then absolutely need Man City to beat Spurs away. If they don't, well then I think we'd have fucked it as I can't see us beating Palace the form we're in. The goal difference could very easily disappear as well.

If it's a draw in Spurs-Man. City then we just need a draw ourselves at Palace to seal things.

As terrible as we were yesterday (and we were) we were still only 10 minutes off getting a 0-0 and I just don't think with an actual week's prep we'll be anywhere near as bad at Selhurst Park.

The only disaster now in the run in is Spurs beating Man. City and I simply don't see it with how they're defending currently.

[SoccerHQ]

I suspect we'd really, really rather not play Torres twice in a week, you could see all that tape on his left quad. So Lenglet will likely play again on Thursday (gulp).

Even if Tielemans is better you suspect he wouldn't start either. Hopefully he's back for Liverpool - fuck me we've missed that extra control in midfield.

The one we really need to rest currently is Bailey imo. I was surprised yesterday we didn't have him on the bench but then Unai has suddenly gone all allergic to playing three central midfielders.

He's just nursing his way through games currently which is a big problem to how we've played all season.

My gut feeling is the left field selection for Thursday is we'll see Moreno ahead of Digne and hopefully he can manage an hour.

Diaby on the other side as he did manage a goal and assist in first leg so not a player they're too comfortable with.

[SoccerHQ]

Yep I agree. I genuinely didn't think we'd miss Dendoncker.

I'm still not sure we do! I guess we must do, just another body who could surely do OK against Olympiakos. But to be honest I don't think he's better than Tim at this stage, at least when it comes to keeping controlled possession in midfield.

Difference is there when we had issues in CM at xmas with suspensions Unai did not hesitate to start Donk for 2-3 games.

He's showing all the reluctance in the world to give Tim anything bar token minutes in a game we didn't really care about (Man. City) or sub cameos.

So in effect we're another midfielder down from where we were a few months ago.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Yeah. I love Rogers, but the difference between the Bailey-McGinn-Doug-Rogers midfield and the McGinn-Kamara-Luiz-Tielemans midfield is all about loss of control.

Exactly. I've been saying all season, get the midfield right and the rest takes care of itself.

[andyh]

I am getting ‘number wang’ looking at all the permutations, fixtures, when they play, what Burnley need, what Man City need, when the Arse are playing etc etc.

This is a ridiculously fretful end to the season.

[pablo_picasso]

A tap in merchant in my mind...we'd be a lot better off with Toney, Solanke, Watkins, isak, Awoniyi to mention just a few..

Its easy to sit there & say "we would be better with one of the best strikers in the league in the team", but anybody could say that about a player who is so unobtainable, it makes the comment as ludicrous as they come.

"Vi11& W0u1d b£ 5O Mu@H 3etteR W1th MBappe uP £r0Nt!!!"

Fucking deluded Cockney mug... 😂

[eamonn]

Yep I agree. I genuinely didn't think we'd miss Dendoncker.

I'm still not sure we do! I guess we must do, just another body who could surely do OK against Olympiakos. But to be honest I don't think he's better than Tim at this stage, at least when it comes to keeping controlled possession in midfield.

Difference is there when we had issues in CM at xmas with suspensions Unai did not hesitate to start Donk for 2-3 games.

He's showing all the reluctance in the world to give Tim anything bar token minutes in a game we didn't really care about (Man. City) or sub cameos.

So in effect we're another midfielder down from where we were a few months ago.

Exactly. And I assume Dendoncker still isn't getting a look-in at Napoli. It's just a pisser when we have established players like him, Sanson (Coutinho even!) out on-loan, when experienced bodies is exactly what we need now.

[AV82EC]

I am getting ‘number wang’ looking at all the permutations, fixtures, when they play, what Burnley need, what Man City need, when the Arse are playing etc etc.

This is a ridiculously fretful end to the season.

Brilliant isn’t it.

[Richard E]

I am getting ‘number wang’ looking at all the permutations, fixtures, when they play, what Burnley need, what Man City need, when the Arse are playing etc etc.

This is a ridiculously fretful end to the season.

Yeah it is, but it’s better than worrying about how Wigan, QPR and the like are getting on like we were a few years ago.

[andyh]

I am getting ‘number wang’ looking at all the permutations, fixtures, when they play, what Burnley need, what Man City need, when the Arse are playing etc etc.

This is a ridiculously fretful end to the season.

Yeah it is, but it’s better than worrying about how Wigan, QPR and the like are getting on like we were a few years ago.

Isn’t it just !

[Brazilian Villain]

Latest analysis from Football Rankings. https://twitter.com/FootRankings/status/1787451494859710766

[Percy McCarthy]

Latest analysis from Football Rankings. https://twitter.com/FootRankings/status/1787451494859710766

It’s mad how fretful I am now. I wasn’t even worried after we lost the Spurs game. But then I was too busy laughing at the posts on here predicting we’d finish sixth.