Postecoglou’s Spurs Handed Kingmaker Role As Arsenal, City, Liverpool Battle for EPL Honours

• Tottenham Hotspur will play the unfancied kingmaker role in this season's title race
• Ange Postecoglou's side have fallen off the pace after a brilliant start to the season
• With 10 games to go, we take a look at how Spurs will directly influence the title race

Ange Postecoglou was far from happy when he was quizzed on whether Tottenham Hotspur was intent on making it to the Champions League next season.

The Greek-Australian manager refused to throw in the towel in the title race even as it becomes more apparent that Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City will battle for the top honours.

"I don't see the sense in trying to aim for something other than number one. What's the point? I don't see the point.," said the former Celtic manager, as quoted by Sky Sports.

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Spurs are currently 10 points off Manchester City in third place, having played a game less than the defending champions. Mathematically speaking, the North London club are still in the race, but it will require a collapse of epic proportions from the leading three teams to be back in the conversation.

But even if they don't fight for the title, Postecoglou's side will have a major say on whether the trophy will remain in Manchester, Merseyside or North London, to their eternal rivals.

Of the 10 games each of the top three are yet to play, they will have to play Spurs in the run-in. The three teams will also play Aston Villa and Brighton, who are equally competing for European places. Herein, we analyse how the Spurs fixtures will influence the title race.

1. vs Manchester City (home) - April 20

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Pep Guardiola has perennially struggled away from Tottenham in what would be good news to their title rivals. They did win in North London in an FA Cup tie this season, but in the reverse fixture at the Etihad, Spurs wrestled back to force a three-all draw.

Guardiola averages 1.58 points against Tottenham, which is his second-lowest tally of all the teams he has faced more than 15 times, according to Transfermarkt's stats. The last time Guardiola won away at Tottenham in a Premier League game was in 2018 when Mauricio Pochettino was still in charge.

2. vs Arsenal (home) - April 27

A week later, Spurs will welcome their enemies, Arsenal, with a lot more than the Premier League title at stake. The reverse fixture at the Emirates was a riveting two-all draw.

The Gunners completed a double over their rivals last season, and how badly could they use a repeat of the 2-0 win last year?

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The Arsenal faithful will be buoyed by Arteta's record against Spurs. Of the 16 games he has played, the former Guardiola assistant has won nine times and lost four times.

3. vs Liverpool (away) - May 4

The title and revenge will be firmly on Jurgen Klopp's mind when Spurs visit in the first weekend of May. The clash in North London was marked by the greatest VAR controversy this season.

A disallowed Luis Diaz goal changed the trajectory of the game, with Spurs nicking the win right at the end.

Last season, Liverpool won both home and away. The Anfield clash was a classic, with Richarlison thinking he had rescued a draw for his side with a stoppage-time equaliser, only for Diogo Jota to score on restart.

Klopp's record against Tottenham stands at 2.05 points per game, winning 11 games of his 19 duels against the Lily Whites.

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Sports Brief prediction

Tottenham, with their European ambitions on the line, will most likely battle out to draw against Manchester City and Arsenal. A possible repeat of history vs Manchester City is also possible.

However, a draw, let alone a win at Anfield, might prove to be a tall order for Postecoglou. And in a title race where the contenders are separated by goal difference and a point, these results could be massive on the colour of the ribbons on May 19.

How Klopp outwitted Guardiola

Sports Brief has also reported on how Jurgen Klopp outsmarted Pep Guardiola when Liverpool and Manchester City met on March 10.

The second half of the Anfield clash saw Liverpool subdue the defending champions for 20 minutes with constant attacks.

The game ended in a one-all draw, with Guardiola admitting his side 'survived a tsunami.'