Spurs set for final White Hart party
NEARING THE END: Team takes aim at Arsenal as it winds down century-plus run at storied home stadium
Arsenal is at Tottenham on Sunday, in what will be the last ever North London derby at White Hart Lane. The venerable stadium, where Spurs have played since 1899, is being demolished in favour of a luxurious new 61,000 seat facility that will open next door next year. Spurs will play at Wembley next season until the new stadium is ready.
Tottenham remains in the title race, four points behind Chelsea, while Arsenal is down in sixth place trying to get back into the Champions League hunt. If Spurs win on Sunday, they will be assured of finishing ahead of Arsenal for the first time in 21 years.
While Spurs fans prepare to party, Arsenal fans continue to despair. Calls for the removal of manager Arsene Wenger have been become an international running joke in recent weeks, with the words “Wenger Out” showing up at all kinds of sporting events around the globe.
Wenger’s future remains uncertain, and may depend on the outcome of next month’s FA Cup Final, where Arsenal faces Chelsea. A good result on Sunday against Spurs wouldn’t hurt Wenger’s chances either.
Derby days
There are some other big derbies in Europe this week, as Espanyol hosts Barcelona on Saturday, while Roma faces Lazio on Sunday at the Stadio Olimpico.
Barcelona is coming off a huge 3-2 win over Real Madrid last weekend, as well as a 7-1 demolition of Osasuna on Wednesday. Barca has moved level on points with Real, and will look for another win against crosstown competition Espanyol, who they haven’t lost to in eight years. Espanyol, though, is in a good run of form at home with eight wins in its last 11 matches there.
The focus at Roma, meanwhile, is on Francesco Totti, who may be playing in his last Rome derby. Or maybe not. The 40-year-old Roma skipper is questionable, after teammate Thomas Vermaelen trod on his big toe in training.
The injury may upset Totti’s plan to wear his new gold-coloured limited edition signature boots at the derby. The boots celebrate Totti’s 25 years at Roma, with only 2,500 pairs being produced. Roma sits comfortably in second place in Serie A, while Lazio is battling Atalanta for fourth.
Big semis
The first leg of the Champions League semifinals are next week, as only four teams remain.
On Tuesday we have yet another big derby, this time in Madrid, as Real hosts Atletico. This is the fourth straight year these two teams have met in the Champions League, and Real has all the bragging rights. Real defeated Atletico in the final in both 2014 and 2016, and eliminated their crosstown rivals in the 2015 quarter-finals. Atletico is definitely looking for payback.
Wednesday’s clash has Monaco hosting Juventus. It’s the young kid against the Old Lady, as Monaco’s 18-year-old scoring sensation Kylian Mbappe goes up against the seasoned defence of Juventus. The Italian champions held Barcelona scoreless over two legs, and will look to do the same against this talented young French side.
Net profit
Relegation from the Premier League comes at a huge cost which now runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars. To avoid it, clubs spend millions in January transfer fees, or bring in a new coach with a hefty bonus to keep the team up. Facing relegation danger last month, Bournemouth made one simple change that cost only around $200, and may have helped save them from the drop.
One of Bournemouth’s big problems had been a lack of scoring at home. Assistant manager Jason Tindall then got the idea that their goal nets might be a problem. Bournemouth was using special club colours for red and black nets, which tended to blend into the background and made the goals harder to see.
The club switched to a set of standard white goal nets, and suddenly their players were able to find the back of the net. Bournemouth had only managed 12 goals in nine home games before the switch, and since then have 10 goals in four games, including three wins.
Those victories have moved Bournemouth up to 13th place and relative safety. That’s what I call money well spent.