Paul Merson makes bleak prediction about Tottenham Hotspur
Paul Merson claims that Tottenham Hotspur are already out of the Premier League title race
Paul Merson believes that Tottenham are already out of the title race this season after their stuttering start to the new campaign.
The Lilywhites suffered a surprise 1-0 loss to Newcastle United in front of their home fans on Sunday afternoon as Mauricio Pochettino’s men slumped to their first defeat of the season.
Spurs have picked up four points from their opening three Premier League games to leave them in seventh place in the table as they look to try and bounce back in the coming weeks.
Pochettino’s men are currently preparing for their Premier League trip to The Emirates to take on local rivals Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.
And former Gunners midfielder Merson feels that Spurs will struggle to get themselves back into the title race after their poor start to the new campaign.
Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports, Merson said: “They are out of the title race already, five points behind Liverpool with three games played.
“That may sound harsh, but would you back Spurs to win the league over Liverpool if Liverpool had a five-point head start?
“People go on and on about there being 35 games left but I’m fed up with that rhetoric, five points is a lot of points to make up.
“As a general rule, it takes five games to make up five points, Liverpool lost once last season and have won every game so far this, so where are Spurs going to bridge the gap?
“Before a ball was kicked, I thought Spurs were a dead cert to finish in the top three, now they look in the equation for top four football after their performances.”
Tottenham finished in fourth place in the Premier League table last season as they secured qualification for this season’s Champions League.
They ended up losing 2-0 to Liverpool FC in the Champions League final in Madrid back at the start of June to leave them still searching for their first trophy under Pochettino.
