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da 888casino: Moussa Sissoko is insistent that Tottenham Hotspur can still finish in the top four this season, per The Daily Telegraph.
What’s the word?
Spurs have endured a horrific start to the campaign and are currently 11 points behind fourth-placed Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola’s team are joined by Liverpool, Leicester City and Chelsea in the top four but Sissoko remains positive about the chances of Mauricio Pochettino’s side climbing the table.
Indeed, Spurs have won just three times in the Premier League thus far this term and have not won away in the league since January.
Sissoko said: “Of course we are far, far behind the top four, but the season is long and we can still win a lot of games.
“It will not be easy but we know we have the qualities to do it.
“When we come back [after the international break] we will try to catch the teams in front of us and see where we are at the end of the season.”
Sissoko believes that the key to an upturn in results could be the club’s home form – they have already drawn twice and lost once in north London in 2019/20.
He added: “We have to make our home a fortress. Normally we have to take most of the points at home against every team, but we have a bit of a problem with that. It is a shame for us because the fans are pushing us along with their support, but at the end we don’t win.”
Misdiagnosis
Spurs need to improve their away form instead of focusing on winning at home.
They last won on the road in the league against Fulham in January. That’s the Fulham team that have since been relegated and begun the season anew in the Championship.
Thus far this season, Spurs have taken three points from six games on the road. They have a goal difference of minus five and would be in the bottom three if only away games counted. Burnley have an identical record of three draws and three defeats, while only Norwich City, with five losses, have worse.
Compare that with the current top four. Liverpool are unbeaten and have 16 points away from home, Chelsea have 15, Manchester City 12 and Leicester 10.
It is no surprise that the top four overall is also the top four on the road.
But if Spurs are to heed Sissoko’s words and climb the league, they need to start turning up on their travels and taking the points back to London as a matter of urgency.
Their home form, by comparison, has seen them take 11 points, only one fewer than Pep Guardiola’s side, who have the third-best home record in the league.
Sissoko, then, has managed to miss the point by a convincingly wide margin.