29 December 2023 , 13:06
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Thierry Henry was left in shock after Jermain Defoe backed Tottenham to finish in the Premier League's top four this season.
Spurs are enjoying a good season under Ange Postecoglou, who was appointed their manager in June. Although Tottenham suffered a 4-2 loss at Brighton on Thursday night, they are fifth in the Premier League - just a point behind Manchester City in fourth.
Defoe was asked to predict which teams would finish in the top four this season during Amazon Prime's coverage of West Ham's 2-0 win at title-chasing Arsenal on Thursday night. The result leaves the Gunners second, just four points ahead of Tottenham.
"Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal," came Spurs icon Defoe's reply. That led to Gunners legend Henry, who may have assumed that was Defoe's top four in order, to reply: "What? What did you say? Tottenham?"
Defoe then moved away from Henry, as fellow pundit Alan Shearer and presenter Gabby Logan laughed. Liverpool are currently leading the title race, sitting two points ahead of Arsenal in second and three ahead of surprise package Aston Villa in third.
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Champions Manchester City are fourth in the table after a slow start to the season, although they do have a game in hand after winning the Club World Cup earlier this month. Pep Guardiola also has Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland returning to fitness.
West Ham are also going strong under David Moyes, winning three consecutive games to move up to sixth and within three points of Tottenham. Manchester United are two points further back in seventh, while Brighton are close behind in eighth.
Thierry Henry couldn't believe Jermain Defoe's Premier League prediction (Amazon Prime Video)Do you agree with Jermain Defoe? Let us know in the comments below!
There could be five Champions League qualification spots this season. The Premier League's fifth spot will depend on the performance of England teams in the knockout stages of the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League.
If Manchester City, Arsenal (Champions League), Liverpool, West Ham, Brighton (Europa League) and Villa (Europa Conference League) all go far in their respective competitions, that should be enough for the Premier League to clinch that fifth spot.
But if they are knocked out earlier, it will hamper the Premier League's hopes. UEFA will award an additional Champions League qualification spot to the two leagues with the best performing European teams this season. Another two spots will go to the clubs with the best historical results in Europe who fail to qualify via the conventional route.
One team slipping out of contention for a top-four finish is Newcastle, who have lost four of their last five Premier League games to fall to ninth in the table. Shearer thinks they'll miss out. "Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa," said the Newcastle legend when asked for his prediction. "I wanted to put Newcastle in, but I can't!"
On Newcastle, Shearer added: "I didn’t expect them to get into that top four, but I was hoping maybe fifth or sixth. But there are so many teams that are improving around them that they are going to have to get back to winning ways pretty soon. Having said that, their next three league games are tough ones. It’s a tough time for them."