Paul Merson has hit out at Tottenham Hotspur ahead of their crunch game on the weekend with Champions League football on the line.
The north London club have managed to turn around a four-point deficit on the top four race in the space of a week with their rivals, Arsenal, falling apart.
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Spurs have picked up six points in their last two games – including the 3-0 trouncing of the Gunners – to see them go into the game at Carrow Road needing just a single point to qualify for the elite European stage.
Antonio Conte’s men will go into the game as heavy favourites to seal the points with Norwich rock-bottom of the table and with a whopping 79 goals conceded this season – the most in the league.
And ahead of their trip to East Anglia, Merson has had his say in speaking to Sportskeeda on Spurs not deserving to finish in the top-four if they can’t beat the Canaries:
“It’s probably a strange thing to say because Norwich are rock bottom and were the first team to suffer relegation, but they always have their moments in football matches. They were battered 3-0 by Leicester last time out, but they had a lot of good chances to score in the first half,” Merson told Sportskeeda.
“If they can put some of those away, there could be a bit of drama, but the way they approach games could play into Tottenham’s hands.
“I’ll only say one thing – if Spurs can’t beat Norwich City on the last day of the season with a place in the Premier League top four at stake, what’s the point of them being in the UEFA Champions League in the first place?”
TIF Thoughts on Merson’s comments…
There is certainly some truth in what Merson has said as Spurs should be comfortably beating Norwich given the Canaries’ dreadful form this season.
However, the reality is Spurs only need one point from the game so Merson’s opinion does not really matter in that sense as it is factually incorrect.
The season is played over 38 games and Spurs have now earned the freedom to go into the game on the weekend needing to just avoid defeat to qualify for the Champions League.
In other news: ‘Echoes of Lasagnegate’ – Gold now issues worrying Spurs claim ahead of Norwich clash