Can Tottenham Hotspur win the Premier League title this season?
Published:
This Premier League season is as unpredictable as ever, which begs us to ask the question, could Tottenham Hotspur be the team to mount a title challenge this season?
Heading into matchday nine, Tottenham are second in the table with five wins from their eight matches.
Despite dropping points against Everton, Newcastle and West Ham at home, the north Londoners have bagged impressive victories over both Southampton and Manchester United on their travels.
Spurs are 8/1 to win the Premier League title and this weekend they face a real test of their title mettle against Manchester City on Saturday.
Three points against the 2018/19 league champions could well act as the lighting of the torch paper for a title charge with almost a quarter of the season behind them.
We take a look at the areas where a potential title tilt could lay and what could be the difference between challenging and falling short.
Harry Kane
The striker has become an indispensable figure for Tottenham having recently netted his 150th Premier League goal for the club. This season, he already has a mighty tally of seven goals and eight assists in the league.
Kane has added a new dimension to his game and is often found dropping in deeper positions to retrieve the ball with the pace and movement of Son Heung-Min further up the pitch proving fruitful.
Injuries have hampered the England striker in recent seasons, but he is showing signs of being back to his formidable best.
If he can stay fit for long periods of the campaign, Spurs could find themselves near the top of the pile with Kane 7/2 to win the Golden Boot.
The Gareth Bale Factor
It was a summer loan move that suited both parties and one which has reinvigorated the club and the player himself with a new-found hunger and desire to succeed.
The 31-year-old was mooted for a move away from Real Madrid for some time after his spell in the Spanish capital turned increasingly sour under Zinedine Zidane.
Bale is back at the club he left seven years ago, and the shackles appear to be off after regaining his fitness following his arrival on a season-long loan in September.
Before the international break, he scored his first goal since returning to the club in their win over Brighton and he’ll be hoping it’s the first of many as Spurs continue to challenge for top honours.
If he can rediscover the form that got him his £85 million move to Real Madrid in 2013, Tottenham have a weapon in their armoury which could take them to the next level.
Jose Mourinho
The ‘Special One’ is a serial winner who knows the Premier League inside out. He was brought into the club twelve months ago to end the drought that has seen them win just three trophies in 29 years. Could this be their time?
Mourinho led Tottenham to a sixth-place finish last term and this season, the expectations are higher. They are 8/13 to finish in the top four.
Mourinho has the pedigree at the top level with both Premier League and Champions League triumphs on his illustrious managerial CV.
New Signings
Bale was the marquee signing, but they have bolstered their ranks even further in defence, midfield and attack with some notable additions to allow them to compete at the highest level.
Full-back was an area that needed strengthening and Spurs have rectified that with the £15 million arrival of Matt Doherty from Wolves and £27.5 million signing of Sergio Reguilon from Real Madrid.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has been one of the standout additions in midfield. He has become the leader and general that Tottenham have been missing for quite some time in the middle of the field to offer them more balance and defensive stability.
Likewise, the loan arrival of Vinicius Junior is another wise move to provide a quality back-up option to Harry Kane. He could prove a shrewd addition with the amount of games Spurs have to play.
Depending how the season progresses, there could still more new faces in January too as Mourinho builds a side to end their plight for silverware.
Fixture List
The next few matches will give us a clear indication as to whether Spurs have turned a corner this season.
Tottenham face Manchester City and Chelsea next in the league, before a mouth-watering North London derby against Arsenal in December.
How Spurs will manage those fixtures is yet to be seen with a couple of Europa League matches to navigate against Ludogorets and LASK too. It is also worth nothing that Spurs are the 6/1 favourites to win the tournament.
As the Europa League progresses to the knockout stages, the Spurs boss may have to decide as to which competition should take priority and if his first-choice stars can compete on all fronts.
In December, Spurs face Liverpool and Leicester back-to-back, before travelling to Wolves on Boxing Day.
The Premier League works in a weird and wonderful way and if Spurs were to win an elusive Premier League crown it would be poignant that their final game of the season is scheduled to be a trip to 2016 Premier League champions, Leicester City.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
