Alan Shearer, the Premier League’s all-time top scorer, has expressed his doubts about Tottenham Hotspur’s chances against Liverpool today. He has delivered a brutal assessment of Spurs ahead of their Anfield showdown.
Liverpool fans will be arriving at the stadium with high hopes of celebrating well into the night. The Reds only need a single point to officially secure their status as top-flight champions, following Arsenal’s stumble to a draw against Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
This would be an incredible accomplishment for the team and for manager Arne Slot, who stepped into Jurgen Klopp’s shoes just last summer. While Liverpool is soaring, Spurs are struggling. Despite making strides in the Europa League — they have a semi-final first leg against Bodo/Glimt on Thursday — they’re languishing in 16th place in the Premier League table.
Ange Postecoglou’s squad has suffered a staggering 18 losses from their 33 top-flight matches, leading to serious questions about whether he’ll remain at the helm next season.
And ahead of the match, the Tottenham boss hinted at rotating his squad for the Liverpool game. With a potential Europa League trophy — and subsequent Champions League qualification — on the line, it’s clear that the league is no longer their main focus.
However, in his Betfair column, Shearer criticized the current state of Spurs and predicted that Liverpool will add to their woes this weekend. “It could get messy,” he admitted.
(Image: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
“When you look at the two teams, how could you take any Spurs players and put them into a combined XI, with how Liverpool have been in the league? So if you’re asking me what the combined XI is for Spurs and Liverpool, it’s Liverpool one to 11.
“That will be pretty embarrassing for any Spurs fan to read but unfortunately, it’s reality. If you’ve gone through that many managers with that amount of finance then you’ve got to question other things. Because, we’ve said it all before about Tottenham.
“When you look at Nuno Espirito Santo, you look at Jose Mourinho, when you look at Conte. All these managers that have been there and are now being successful elsewhere – you should start to think, maybe it’s not the managers.
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“Ange did tell us that he always wins a trophy in his second season and he’s in a semi-final. So let’s see. If he doesn’t win, then I would fear for the club. It would be a remarkable situation with how bad they’ve been in the league that they could go on and actually win that competition.”
Indeed, Tottenham has endured a tough time against Liverpool this season, experiencing heavy defeats of 6-3 in the Premier League and 4-0 in the League Cup semi-final second leg, although they secured a surprise victory over the Reds in the first leg of the same competition.
Liverpool.com says: Spurs and Manchester United being just above the relegation zone is remarkable, quite frankly. To lose 18 league games (and it will likely be more before the season ends) is ludicrous from a team filled with as much quality as Postecoglou can call upon. He has been unfortunate with injuries, but that is no excuse.
