Tottenham Hotspur may have fallen four points behind Arsenal in the race for the top four with three games to go, but they will take pride from their performance and result in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool.
The Premier League title chasers struggled to overcome Antonio Conte ’s side at Anfield, but Spurs were just as worthy of their point with the display they put on show.
They now face a huge game on Thursday when they host Arsenal in the North London derby, and Gary Neville is backing Tottenham to take all three points following their result at the weekend.
Speaking on the Gary Neville Podcast , he said: “I think it will be a really tasty game on Thursday night, not just because of the fact it’s a North London derby and they’re playing for Champions League places. But the way in which this game was called off earlier in the year – even I wasn’t too happy with that!
“So there will be a little bit of needle, there is anyway so we don’t need to talk that up. Look, it’s Arsenal’s to lose but Tottenham on Thursday night, that will be hard for Arsenal. If they come out of there with a draw or a victory they’ll have done very well with the feeling that will be in that stadium against them.
“It’s a big game, I’m looking forward to it. I fancy Tottenham on Thursday night. I thought they were brilliant at Anfield, I thought it was a really good performance because Liverpool are one of the very, very best.”
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Spurs held their own in the first half against the Reds on Saturday, before taking the lead through Son Heung-min on 54 minutes. A deflected Luis Diaz effort ensured there was a share of the spoils, but the hosts just couldn’t find a way through Conte’s side.
A point was certainly better than nothing for the visitors, but it enabled Arsenal to open up a four-point gap the following day when they pulled off a 2-1 win against Leeds United at the Emirates Stadium, who threatened to grab a point despite being down to 10 men.
But should Spurs produce a performance that is anything like the one they put on display at Anfield over the weekend, then they will have every chance of picking up all three points in front of their own fans. Harry Kane and Son are a deadly duo in attack, and Neville was full of praise for the pair against Liverpool.
He said: “I know they’ve done well [at the Etihad] but Anfield is so tight and Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate are so quick and so strong that you think to yourself: how do Kane and Son do it against them? But they did. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant, I thought they were outstanding.
“They’re a joy anyway, they’ve been outstanding for a number of seasons now, but that’s the toughest away game that you have to play I think, Anfield, and it’s the toughest game to counter-attack in because the space is so little it feels like in the centre of midfield where Kane was picking it up and having to break.
“But Tottenham connected through Kane into those wide players, he held it up enough, he moved away and rolled people just to get the pass away or turned and got that pass away, and he does it absolutely wonderfully. Conte can do that as a coach, he has it in him that sort of warrior mentality.”
