Tottenham Hotspur's chances of finishing inside the Premier League top four are fading after the 2-2 draw against Manchester United on Thursday night, despite some positive signs in the second half.
Spurs fought back from 2-0 down to rescue a point, with Pedro Porro and Son Heung-min getting on the scoresheet in the second half. However, they probably needed three points to keep their Champions League dream alive.
The Lilywhites still trail the Red Devils by six points, despite playing two more games, while Newcastle's emphatic 4-1 win away at Everton means it will also be very hard to catch Eddie Howe's side.
Since our last set of predictions, Tottenham have parted ways with Cristian Stellini, with Ryan Mason taking charge on an interim basis until the end of the season. Here's how we expect their remaining games to finish:
Tottenham fixtures
- 30 April: Liverpool (a)
- 6 May: Crystal Palace (h)
- 13 May: Aston Villa (a)
- 20 May: Brentford (h)
- 28 May: Leeds (a)
Liverpool v Tottenham
Jurgen Klopp's side have underperformed this season, so this Sunday's encounter at Anfield may prove to be decisive in the race for the Europa League, rather than the Champions League, but Liverpool have started to click at the right time.
The Reds have now won their last three Premier League games, most recently emerging 2-1 winners away at West Ham United, and they will have the opportunity to leapfrog Tottenham in the table with a victory this weekend.
Given the improvement from Liverpool in recent weeks, they are likely to emerge as comfortable winners, particularly considering Anfield is not a happy hunting ground for Spurs, having failed to win there since May 2011.
Prediction: Liverpool 2-0 Tottenham
Tottenham v Crystal Palace
Tottenham will need to be winning games like this to stand any chance of finishing inside the top four, and they are likely to take all three points, especially since Crystal Palace have little to play for at this stage of the season.
The returning Roy Hodgson has overseen the Eagles rise up the league table, now sitting eight points clear of the bottom three, and just three points off the all-important 40-point barrier.
With safety more or less confirmed, Palace have started to falter in recent weeks, drawing against Everton, before losing 2-0 against Wolverhampton Wanderers last time out, and they are unlikely to pose too much of a threat to Spurs.
Prediction: Tottenham 3-1 Crystal Palace
Aston Villa v Tottenham
Unai Emery has been breaking records as manager of Aston Villa, with his side scoring in all 20 league games since his appointment, which is the most consecutive Premier League matches a team with a new manager has scored in.
At the time of writing, the Villans have won five Premier League home games in a row to put themselves in contention for European qualification, particularly impressing in a resounding 3-0 victory against Newcastle United.
Although there were signs of improvement from Spurs in the second half against Man United, they are unlikely to take anything against such an in-form Villa side.
Prediction: Aston Villa 2-0 Tottenham
Tottenham v Brentford
Although their form has started to dry up in recent weeks, winning just one of their last seven games, Brentford are likely to be very happy with their 2022-23 campaign, and they returned to form in their last match.
The Bees ran out 2-0 winners against a struggling Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge, and they now sit ninth in the Premier League table, although it looks very unlikely they will be able to make a late push for Europe.
Despite the victory in their last match, the Bees should not pose too much of a threat for Tottenham, who must win games like this to keep their European dream alive.
Prediction: Tottenham 3-1 Brentford
Leeds v Tottenham
On the final day of the season, Spurs travel to Elland Road to take on a Leeds side who may well be fighting for their lives, given that they are in 16th place, just one point above the bottom three at the time of writing.
Javi Gracia's side have been very disappointing in recent weeks, losing 5-1 at home to Crystal Palace and 6-1 at home to Liverpool, while a 1-1 draw against Leicester City last time out has also done them no favours.
The Lilywhites have won four of their five matches against Leeds since the West Yorkshire club returned to the Premier League, most recently running out 4-3 winners after a late figh back in November.
Both sides have very poor defensive records, with Leeds having conceded the joint-highest amount of any side in the league, therefore it is likely to be a high-scoring game, with Spurs emerging as narrow winners.
Prediction: Leeds 2-3 Tottenham
- Predicted run-in points: 9/15
- Predicted total points: 63