Niall Quinn has predicted that Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Liverpool will finish in the Premier League’s top four.
Niall Quinn
Niall Quinn has told Sky Sports that he expects Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester City and Liverpool to make up the Premier League’s top four this season, before outlining what he believes to be the crucial difference between Spurs and their North London rivals Arsenal.
With between seven and nine games to go for the sides in the current top six, there is still little daylight apart from the fact that the top two – leaders Chelsea and Tottenham – are starting to pull away from the chasing pack.
That arguably leaves Liverpool and City to fight to hold onto their places. Arsenal and Manchester United have both played one game less than Pep Guardiola’s men and two less than the Reds, so do still stand a chance of closing the gaps – four points to City, six to Liverpool – before the season concludes.
However, Quinn has suggested that he expects neither of the two teams outside of the top four to break in, and explained the main difference between Arsenal and Tottenham this season.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
“I wouldn’t discount them [Manchester United]. Jose will be pushing them right to the end, and if they put a strong finish in they may just surprise people,” he told Sky Sports while explaining why he expects the current top four to remain intact.
“Arsenal have to dig really deep. From what I saw from them at the weekend, they’ll probably be delighted to get a draw and didn’t go anywhere near to win the game late on.
“Spurs under Pochettino are a team who have lovely individual players but they’ve got a collective spirit. A desire and a hunger that is different to the old Spurs teams. The difference between Spurs and Arsenal is Spurs have a defence to be proud of,” he went on to add.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men arguably proved that they have learnt the lesson from their title challenge last season with their most recent result.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino
Last year, Spurs somewhat crumbled when they needed victories to keep in touch with Leicester and ultimately fell behind Arsenal on the final day.
On Wednesday, going into the dying minutes of their clash with Swansea they were 1-0 down and seemingly ready to virtually hand the title to Chelsea, who were beating Manchester City.
However, they scored three times late on to pull off a stunning turnaround. And while Quinn believes the defence is the key difference between Spurs and Arsenal, there appears to be a gulf between the two in terms of the amount of fighting spirit, too.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
