Antonio Conte Spurs Specials

At present, Tottenham are ninth in the Premier League just five points off top four following their 3-0 defeat to Manchester United when Nuno Espirito Santo was in charge.

Antonio Conte has a proven track record of getting the best out of his sides, as in his first Premier League season with Chelsea in 2016/17, he won the Premier League title with 93 points, 43 more than they managed in the previous campaign under Jose Mourinho and Guus Hiddink. The Italian also started Juventus’ nine-year dynasty in Serie A by winning the title with them in his first full season back in 2011/12, improving their points tally on the season before by 26 points.

With Manchester United faltering and just two points ahead of Spurs, as well as the fact that West Ham United occupy fourth in the table, who arguably have less quality than Spurs but have played in a much more cohesive manner than Tottenham, Conte will fancy his chances of getting Spurs into the top four for the first time since the 2018/19 campaign.

Tottenham are still in both domestic cups and have a good chance of progressing through their Europa Conference League group if things go to plan.

Spurs take on West Ham United in the quarter-finals of the League Cup and with both of the Manchester clubs out, as well as the fact that they have a strong lineup on paper, they could fancy their chances against Liverpool who tend to rotate a lot in the competition, as well as Arsenal and Chelsea.

The FA Cup was the last English competition that Conte won as Chelsea manager before exiting Stamford Bridge, when his side defeated Manchester United 1-0 in the final via an Eden Hazard penalty in 2018. Conte made the final in both seasons at the Blues, losing the 2017 final to Arsenal having beaten both United and Spurs on the way, showing that he has a good pedigree in this competition.

Meanwhile, Spurs are arguably the strongest team in the Europa Conference League at present alongside AS Roma, Feyenoord and Rennes. However, with Spurs having a considerable amount of quality in their side with Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and more, they should fancy their chances of beating anyone that drops down from the Europa League, as well as their chances of progressing through the current group, with the likes of Vitesse and Rennes to play at home, as well as Mura away.

As mentioned above, Conte has a good record of starting quickly with new teams and could also provide a new manager bounce which could see the Lilywhites instantly pick up form. With the likes of West Ham occupying fourth in the table, whilst United are just two points down the road, the Italian manager will know that there is an opportunity to grab with both hands, especially if the likes of Kane and Son hit the ground running under his management.

Meanwhile, Spurs are arguably the strongest team in the Europa Conference League despite sitting third in Group G behind Rennes and Vitesse, due to poor results under Espirito Santo, but, they will more than fancy their chances of beating Vitesse, Mura and Rennes to progress, especially due to the fact that they play the two sides above them in the standings at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Spurs are just two points behind United in the Premier League following their 3-0 home loss to them last weekend which was Espirito Santo’s last game in charge of the Lilywhites before being sacked.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is currently under huge pressure from fans of the Old Trafford club following a poor start to the season having signed world-class talents such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho, but, still struggling to find a solution to make his team a cohesive and dangerous unit, instead, relying on individual brilliance from the likes of Ronaldo, with the latest example being in the Reds 2-2 draw with Atalanta in the Champions League.

United look disorganised at present, and with the Red Devils facing Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal in three of their next four Premier League matches, there will likely be a chance for Spurs to add pressure on the Norwegian coach by overtaking them on the league table.

Tottenham’s next five Premier League matches see them face a tricky test away at Everton, as well as Leeds United at home, Burnley at Turf Moor, before hosting Brentford and Norwich City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at the start of December.

If Conte’s side sees off Everton at Goodison Park then there is a good chance of Spurs winning all five of these fixtures, as Everton haven’t won any of their last four league matches, losing their last three to West Ham, Watford and Wolves, even conceding five to the Hornets in the process.

Leeds, Burnley and Norwich have all had troubled starts to their Premier League season’s as combined, they have 19 points after 10 matches each and are placed 17th, 18th and 20th in the division, whilst Brentford have lost their last three games in England’s top-flight following their 3-1 mauling away at Sean Dyche’s side last weekend, having also lost narrowly to Leicester City and Chelsea, potentially seeing Thomas Frank’s side lose momentum from last season’s promotion campaign.