SPELL BREAKER
What you need to know:
- SOCCER. To stay in the race and give themselves the chance of a first league title in decades, hot-streaking Tottehnam Hotspur must break the hold that bitter rivals Arsenal have over them in the age-old North London derby tomorrow.
Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino has aimed a dig at Arsenal by claiming Spurs have loftier ambitions than simply finishing above the Gunners.
The two teams face one another at White Hart Lane tomorrow and a win for Spurs would confirm the club finish above Arsenal for the first time since the 1994/1995 season. Spurs are four points behind league leaders Chelsea going into the final five games of the season and need a win against Arsene Wenger’s side to keep the pressure up on the Blues.
It will be the last time the two teams face one another at White Hart Lane before Spurs move into a new stadium but Pochettino says his side are focusing on the title.
“That is no motivation, and no distraction,” said Pochettino.
“What happens at the end of the season, we will see. Our focus is trying to win. We are not thinking to be above Arsenal, our challenge is to reduce the gap with Chelsea and think of bigger things than only to be above Arsenal.”
“One day to achieve big trophies, you must be mentally bigger. You must think about bigger dreams.’
Facing dilemma
Arsene Wenger’s switch to 3-4-3 has so far succeeded in creating greater defensive stability but he still has to identify how Arsenal can be most potent in attack.
The Gunners won their third successive match in this new shape despite obvious fatigue from their FA Cup marathon at Wembley last Sunday and the doggedness of an opponent still searching for a point or two to be certain of avoiding relegation.
There is precious little margin for error in Arsenal’s fight to clamber back into the top four and so the four changes he made to the starting line-up were as a result of their extra-time exertions against Manchester City just over 72 hours earlier.
Perhaps most surprisingly given Danny Welbeck’s lively cameo on Sunday, Theo Walcott was given the nod ahead of Olivier Giroud at centre-forward.
Walcott has had a quietly effective campaign and was unfortunate to be left out of Gareth Southgate’s last England squad when proving one of the more consistent performers in a struggling team but here he was unable to seize an opportunity to force his way into the starting line-up.
He lacked conviction in the final third — perhaps due to a little ring-rustiness after sitting out the last two matches — and the crowd, sparse as it was last night, were calling for Welbeck’s introduction not long into the second half.
ENGLISH PREMIERSHIP - TODAY
Sunderland vs. Bournemouth (SS3, 5PM)
West Brom vs. Leicester (SS5, 5PM)
Southampton vs. Hull (SS7, 5PM)
Stoke vs. West Ham (SS9, 5PM)
C. Palace vs. Burnley (SS3, 7.30PM)
TOMORROW
Man Utd vs. Swansea (SS3, 2PM)
Boro vs. Man City (SS5, 4PM)
Everton vs. Chelsea (SS3, 4PM)
Tottenham vs. Arsenal (SS3, 6.30PM)
MONDAY, MAY 1
Watford vs. Liverpool (SS3, 9.45PM)
