David James predicts who will finish third and fourth in the PL this season
David James has said that he expects Aston Villa to finish above Tottenham Hotspur, insisting that the Spurs players might be affected by the speculation over Ange Postecoglou’s future.
Some Spurs fans might have still harboured dreams of potentially chasing down the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool heading into last weekend but the Lilywhites were served a reality check by Wolves, who took all three points from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
That result meant that Villa leapfrogged Postecoglou’s men into fourth while Manchester United also gained ground on them, with the Red Devils now just three points behind the North London side.
It now seems like Spurs are likely to find themselves in a major scrap for the final guaranteed Champions League spot and James feels that they will fall short of their pursuit.
Who will win the race for the top four this season?
The 53-year-old installed his former club, Villa, as the favourites, even backing them to battle Arsenal for third. He opined that the speculation linking Postecoglou with a move to Liverpool will do Tottenham’s chances no favours.
When asked who he expects to clinch fourth place, the former England number one told GGRecon: “I have to be biased and say Aston Villa. I think Ollie Watkins is proving himself again this season and it’s been a remarkable campaign for him.
“That being said, I think with the amount of goals and the lack of clean sheets we’re seeing in the Premier League at the moment, there seems to be a lot of players on big numbers when it comes to goalscoring.
“I think Aston Villa have had their wobble. Tottenham are playing better football this season under Ange Postecoglou, however, what’s interesting with Ange is that he’s being linked with the Liverpool job already and that could be disturbing for some of the Spurs players. I think Aston Villa are in a better position with Unai Emery for that reason.
“I’m not convinced by Manchester United, and I’m not just saying that because I’m an ex-Liverpool player, because I’m not seeing proper team performances from them despite their run of wins.
“Manchester United still seem to struggle in games for the best part of 45 minutes and that’s something that you shouldn’t expect from a side that has ambitions of qualifying for the Champions League. I think there’s still work for Erik Ten Hag to do. I just think that Aston Villa have had their blip and I believe it will be a fight between themselves and Arsenal for third and fourth place.”
Spurs Web Opinion
With 13 games left and with just a few points separating Villa, Spurs and Man Utd, the race is too close to call at the moment. There are going to be plenty more twists and turns and one would not bet against the race for fourth going right down to the wire.
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