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Tottenham are currently in 16th place in the Premier League table and just one point above the relegation zone, with sections of Lincoln City fans aiming a chant at Spurs

Tottenham Hotspur found themselves the subject of a chant from Lincoln City supporters, given their precarious position near the Premier League's relegation zone. Spurs currently sit in 16th place, just a single point clear of the bottom three.

Igor Tudor took over as Tottenham's interim manager last month on a contract that lasts until the end of the season, but has suffered defeats in all three of his games at the helm so far.

This poor run of form has fuelled rumours about Tudor's future at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with rumours suggesting his tenure at Spurs may be in doubt.

With only nine Premier League fixtures remaining this season, Tottenham will return to top-tier action next weekend when they face off against reigning champions Liverpool.

Despite Tottenham having no fixture this weekend due to the FA Cup taking centre stage, there were still matches unfolding across the EFL, including in Cardiff, reports football.london.

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Saturday saw Lincoln City secure a 2-0 victory away at League One title contenders Cardiff City, propelling them above the Bluebirds to the summit of the third-tier table.

Lincoln now boast a 10-point lead in the automatic promotion spots, with a game in hand, and are widely tipped for promotion to the Championship next season.

Consequently, there's a chance that Lincoln and Tottenham could find themselves in the same league next season, should Spurs suffer relegation from the Premier League.

This prospect wasn't overlooked by some Lincoln supporters, who mocked Tottenham whilst celebrating their victory over Cardiff.

Footage surfaced on social media showing Lincoln's travelling fans inside Cardiff City Stadium after the home crowd had departed, launching into a chant aimed at Tottenham.

"Tottenham away, ole, ole," rang out from sections of Lincoln fans.

Tudor is anticipated to stay in the Tottenham dugout for Tuesday night's Champions League last-16 clash against Atletico Madrid, with the Spurs interim manager offering his assessment of the club's current predicament following the midweek loss to Crystal Palace.

"I don't want to speak about the club. I want to be positive," Tudor said on Thursday after the defeat to Palace.

"I cannot tell the guys nothing in the end after this game. They gave everything. Unfortunately, we pay every detail. We pay every detail.

"If we can say that red card is a detail, there is always something to say. With all the problems we have now, missing the defenders today, missing the full-backs, these are the problems we already know. I don't want to speak about that, but we need to stay together now.

"I always repeat the same things, but it is how it is. Believing and growing. Do not make mistakes. This is the key in the end of football. Stay there, don't make mistakes. One goal, you always score. Two goals, you can score, but it's important to not make mistakes in football.

"Unfortunately, now, in this moment, we pay everything, but in return, I believe, we change everything. Still nine games to play. Still nine games to play."

Tottenham are facing relegation for the first time since the 1976/77 season and one of the players in that team, Micky Stead, has had his say on that fateful campaign

Very few people can provide a personal testimony of Tottenham Hotspur's previous relegation from the top division. It's been almost half a century since Spurs competed in English football's second tier.

Yet similar to the 1976/77 season, Tottenham are now confronting the drop. That year, Spurs finished at the foot of the old First Division, two points adrift of safety.

Fast forward 49 years, and Thursday's 3-1 loss to Crystal Palace has left the north London outfit facing another seemingly impossible relegation. A club considered part of the Premier League's 'big six', and the ninth-wealthiest globally, are now contemplating a fall into the EFL Championship.

Such a scenario would have seemed inconceivable during Harry Kane's prolific goal-scoring years or when they contested the Champions League final under Mauricio Pochettino in 2019.

Micky Stead is among the former players who turned out for that last relegated Spurs squad - a team featuring talents including Glenn Hoddle, Pat Jennings and Peter Taylor.

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Aged just 20 at the time, he featured in eight matches during that ill-fated campaign. Now working as a cab driver, he spoke to Football London about what relegation at Tottenham felt like.

"I wasn't good enough to play in that Spurs team, perhaps that's the answer," he admits. "When you go and tell me you're a young lad, you need to play a few games, and I wasn't good enough to hold my place down.

"I'd say for me to play, Spurs must have been struggling. That's a fair assessment, I reckon.

"I was trying to do the best for Tottenham, and experience-wise, we had quite a lot of experience in that team, and I don't think we should have gone down, actually. But when you're going through a hard time, it's difficult to get the breaks, so everything breaks against you.

"Look at Liverpool this season. They go to Wolves on a bit of a bad run and they get beat. But then look at West Ham. They've had a few good results, and all of a sudden they look like they could get out of it."

Relegation for any side is a devastating blow. For Stead, that harsh reality completely altered his mindset on the pitch.

The 69-year-old said: "You feel sick to your stomach, I tell you. If you make a mistake, you're absolutely sick.

"No matter how your teammates try and help you out and tell you 'don't worry,' and 'keep going', you're absolutely gutted.

"You're a young boy, playing in that team. If you're playing with a lot of confidence, you're a better player than when you ain't.

"You can see that even in really top-class players. Once they get affected by a bit of pressure and they're not confident, they're not the same."

Stead also shares his thoughts on how Kane's switch to Bayern Munich in 2023 marked the beginning of Tottenham's sharp downturn.

"I'm gutted for them really," he said. "The players will be disappointed. Everyone's disappointed.

"I don't think we've had the vision to grow the club. We've got everything. We've got the stadium, we've got the training facilities, we've got the scouting but you look at what happened with Harry Kane.

"He's gone to Germany, and this is his third season there. Why couldn't Spurs keep him? Because he wanted to win something, so he must have known.

Tottenham Hotspur are at risk of being relegation to the Championship which may see some players leave the club - and Premier League sides could already be circling

Tottenham Hotspur could see several of their key players leave the club if they suffer a catastrophic relegation to the Championship. Spurs were handed a fresh blow to their hopes of staying in the Premier League with the defeat to Crystal Palace on Thursday night.

Igor Tudor has now lost all three matches as Tottenham boss since replacing Thomas Frank, and will now look ahead to facing Atletico Madrid in the Champions League next week. When it comes to the Premier League, Tottenham are now just one point above the relegation zone and are in 16th place in the table with just nine matches left to play.

As a result, there is a serious risk that Tottenham may be relegated to the Championship next season. If that happens, there is the likelihood that Spurs could be forced to sell some key members of their squad when the transfer window opens.

It remains to be seen which players could head for the exit door if relegation happens, but there has already been some uncertainty around the futures of some players. Manchester United have previously been linked with signing members of the Tottenham squad, including James Maddison.

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Maddison has been spending the entire season recovering from an ACL injury he suffered during pre-season, but will be hopeful of being back to full fitness for the start of next season.

However, it’s worth emphasising that it’s still purely speculative to predict whether or not United could revisit their interest in Maddison in the event that Tottenham do get relegated.

One position that United could look to strengthen this summer is in the wide forward department. As a result, Dejan Kulusevski could also be a player of interest, with the Sweden international getting closer to returning to action following a knee injury suffered towards the end of last season.

Tottenham may also be mindful that there could be interest in defender Micky van de Ven if they are relegated to the Championship. Liverpool were linked with signing Van de Ven before he joined Spurs, and there were rumours of potential interest again during the January transfer window.

Only time will tell whether any players leave Tottenham this summer, but relegation would of course increase the chances of key members of the squad leaving the club. Igor Tudor - whose position is already under threat after just three games in charge - insists the team are moving in the right direction and will survive the drop.

"I will tell you now, maybe it will sound strange, but I believe more after this game than I believed before. I saw something," said Tudor after the defeat to Palace. "I need to choose the right guys because the boat is going in the direction that I want to go, and needs to go, and who is in the boat can stay. Otherwise they can leave the boat.

"When players come back I'm sure we will have a good team and the victories will come. It's not easy to accept the moment where we are now - but it is how it is."

A former Tottenham manager has criticised the club's hierarchy for their transfer business as Spurs battle relegation

Former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood has hit out at the club's hierarchy for failing to recall three players from their loan spells this season. Spurs' 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace on Thursday saw them tumble to 16th in the Premier League, with the London side sitting just a single point above the relegation zone after fellow strugglers made up ground.

The home loss represented Tottenham's fifth consecutive defeat and their 11th match without a victory, whilst also marking new interim boss Igor Tudor's third straight loss since taking charge. The north London club's lack of quality has been augmented by a lack of experience on the bench in recent weeks as they deal with a relentless injury crisis.

Former Spurs manager Sherwood insists the club made a serious mistake by failing to recognise the need to bring back several loanees earlier in the campaign, given how desperately thin they are on reliable first-team options. Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, the pundit was asked about 18-year-old academy winger Mikey Moore amid the youngster's impressive form on loan at Rangers.

Sherwood believes Tottenham would be in a far stronger position had they kept Moore at the club. He also made the case for recalling 19-year-old defender Luka Vuskovic and 20-year-old centre-back Ashley Phillips, currently on loan at Hamburg and Stoke City respectively.

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"They loaned Moore out because there's no pathway for him," Sherwood said. "So I think there's a great pathway at Rangers to gain some experience. No one fancied him, at the moment.

"They would probably argue that they sent him out for experience, but I would argue he's better than what you've got, so bring him back and play him in games because not only would he be better than some of the players you have signed, who are in your squad, but you also have a shocking injury crisis.

"So not only Mikey Moore, Vuskovic should have been brought back from Hamburg in my opinion. He's played pretty much every game, he's a big centre-back.

"Phillips, who they signed from Blackburn, who plays every week at Stoke City, should have been brought back. Not brought back for no reason, but to play.

"It would have solved a few injury problems rather than throwing kids on the bench who never would have been near the bench. These guys should be given the opportunity. Not only Mikey, I'm not saying he's going to be the answer, but he might be.

"So I don't know why they didn't make that executive decision. It probably is an executive decision rather than a footballing decision. If there was a football person at the top they might have said let's call them back from loan. That should come from the sporting director."

Moore has been putting in impressive displays north of the border, earning plaudits for his performances under boss Danny Rohl. The teenage winger has contributed five goals in 24 Premiership outings this campaign.

Vuskovic has had a breakthrough season in the Bundesliga with newly promoted Hamburg, dealing with top-level opponents such as Harry Kane and contributing four goals. Phillips, meanwhile, has clocked up 30 appearances in the Championship this term after joining Stoke for a second loan spell.

Igor Tudor's nightmare with Tottenham is showing no signs of letting up as his team sits dangerously close to the relegation zone

An Italian news outlet has delivered a bleak verdict on Tottenham's situation under Igor Tudor. The 3-1 Premier League loss to Crystal Palace on Thursday marked the Croatian manager's third defeat in as many matches since taking over as interim boss last month.

Spurs saw their 1-0 lead after 34 minutes turn into a 3-1 deficit by half-time, following the dismissal of stand-in captain Micky van de Ven. Supporters began leaving the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in their hundreds at half-time, with boos echoing around the ground post-match, marking a new low in an already dismal domestic campaign.

The repercussions of a fifth consecutive loss and an 11th match without victory are even graver, considering Spurs now sit 16th in the table and just a single point above the drop zone. There's an increasing sense that Tottenham could face relegation from the top flight for the first time in 49 years, especially with Nottingham Forest and West Ham showing better form lately.

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It seems the severity of Tottenham's alarming form has caught attention even in Italy. The country's famous pink newspaper, La Gazzetta dello Sport, issued a scathing critique after Thursday's defeat, attributing the club's current state to poor decision-making at the top. The report also highlighted the formidable challenge facing the under-pressure Tudor.

The paper wrote: "The dismissal of Thomas Frank three games ago, likely months late for a manager hired from Brentford who never seemed to have the right mentality for a big club, hasn't changed matters much.

"Igor Tudor, a surprise signing, has come on strong against Spurs just as he did last season at Juventus and the season before at Lazio, but not even his brisk, to-the-point manner has been able to shake up a team adrift, one that seems to have long since lost its way to respectability on the pitch."

The publication went on to identify Tottenham's persistent defensive frailties, having conceded a staggering 46 goals in the league this campaign. It also claimed the players and club were no longer meeting even the basic standards needed to stay in the Premier League.

It added: "Being second in the Forbes ranking of the most profitable football clubs in 2026, with a valuation of €2.84billion, or having the most beautiful stadium in the Premier League, alone won't be enough to avoid Tottenham's nightmare of a first relegation since 1977.

"Even Tudor's charisma, already under scrutiny after their third defeat in three, risks not being enough. The boos, a mixture of fear and disappointment, from the fans who stayed until the end against Palace won't be enough."

The outlet claimed Tottenham must rediscover their courage and self-belief to secure wins - qualities they have "stopped" showing. Tudor, meanwhile, insisted there were encouraging signs after the match.

He explained: "I will tell you now, maybe it will sound strange, but I believe more after this game than I believed before. I saw something. I need to choose the right guys because the boat is going in the direction that I want to go and needs to go and whoever is in the boat can stay.

"Otherwise, they can leave the boat. So, when the other players will come back, I’m sure we will have a good team and the victories will come back. It’s not easy to accept the moment where we are now but it is how it is."

Tottenham's hopes of avoiding relegation to the Championship suffered a blow on Thursday, as they were beaten 2-1 at home to Crystal Palace to spark a mutiny among the home crowd

Igor Tudor had ended a disastrous night in Tottenham by speaking about a boat. Spurs seem to drive their head coaches to despair and naval analogies, with Thomas Frank having declared before his exit that the north London club is a big super tanker that would take a while to turn.

Such analogies, though, only conjure images of sinking ships. The HMS Tottenham Hotspur is taking on water because it's been punched full of holes by the decisions of the club's players, head coaches and hierarchy.

At half-time of the 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace, a couple of Spurs fans shouted across at the club analysts that they are 'taking the club down'. Another bellowed 'You've killed the club' up at those in the director's box, including CEO Vinai Venkatesham, sporting director Johan Lange and one of the owners, Vivienne Lewis.

The fans are disgusted by the club and in the 94th minute the travelling Palace faithful sang 'You're going to boo in a minute'. The remaining Tottenham supporters duly did. It was a game that turned horribly in the space of a handful of first-half minutes.

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Nineteen-year-old Archie Gray, Spurs' man of the match by a country mile, jinked around two Palace defenders before picking out Dominic Solanke to score. But Spurs captain Micky van de Ven put his brain into standby mode, grabbed Ismaila Sarr's arm as he ran towards goal and pulled him to the floor.

Referee Andy Madley had no choice but to brandish the red card and award the penalty that Sarr scored. Tottenham have the second most red cards in the Premier League (four) and the most bookings (72).

When asked if there was a discipline issue at the club Tudor bewilderingly responded: "There is no discipline issue at all. Opposite." His misplaced optimism felt similar to Frank's on the night before he was sacked.

Will Tottenham be relegated? Give us your prediction in the comments section.

"Maybe it will sound strange but I believe more after this game than I believed before," said the Croatian. "I saw something. I need to choose the right guys because the boat is going in the direction that I want to go and needs to go and who is in the boat can stay. Otherwise they can leave the boat."

The Tottenham hierarchy must decide whether to give the Tudor reign more time or decide they have made yet another managerial mistake and frantically look for anyone else who can give these players a lift. A routine email sent to the media on Friday confirmed Spurs' press conference in Madrid with Tudor on Monday night ahead of the Champions League last-16 first leg tie.

That's not a cast-iron guarantee the Croatian will be in the Spanish capital but it's a sign that some expect him to be. The problem for Spurs is the lack of alternatives to step into the dugout, those available reading like a panel of television pundits.

There's Harry Redknapp, who turns 80 next year and last managed in the Premier League 11 years ago when he left QPR second from bottom. He would be the nostalgic choice for fans after seeing what Martin O'Neill has done at Celtic. Others mentioned are Tim Sherwood, mainly by Tim Sherwood, along with Jermain Defoe and Ryan Mason.

Seeing that quartet coming over the hill is something akin to the four horsemen of the Tottenham apocalypse. Ange Postecoglou is also currently available, although his return would be far too awkward for Venkatesham and Lange. Their positions will be under scrutiny following the decisions made at a club that is lurching from one mess to another.

Spurs need to be saved, for relegation would be a disaster and leave a reported £250million black hole in their finances. Many inside the club fear for their jobs due to the cutbacks that would need to be made.

Something needs to jolt Tottenham to life at Tottenham because they are currently sleepwalking towards the Championship and that would impact far more than just the 11 players on the pitch.

Tottenham Hotspur have already changed manager once this season but a run of defeats has led to speculation over Igor Tudor's future

If Tottenham Hotspur decide to move on from Igor Tudor just weeks into his managerial tenure then their best option may be a manager currently without a club. Jurgen Klopp is unlikely to be that man, though, with the German essentially ruling out a Premier League return with any club other than Liverpool.

Tudor's slow start has prompted speculation that Spurs could cut ties with the Croatian before the end of his short-term contract. His three matches in charge have all ended in defeat, with Arsenal, Fulham and most recently Crystal Palace gaining the upper hand in London derbies.

They are winless in 11 in the league, with Thomas Frank sacked when that run stood at eight. Former Spurs chairman Alan Sugar was calling for the club to turn to Klopp as long ago as December, and things have only got worse since.

"With the massive fortune of the Lewis family it would be a win win situation if they hired Jurgen Klopp in January," Sugar wrote on social media after a 3-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest. "Loads of money for players and a great manager. Who agrees?"

There has been no indication from Klopp that he has changed his mind on future managerial roles since leaving Liverpool. He confirmed his exit in January 2024, seeing out the remainder of the 2023/24 season but making it clear he planned to take a break afterwards.

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"What I know definitely – I will never, ever manage a different club in England than Liverpool, 100 per cent," he said when announcing he would step down. "That’s not possible. My love for this club, my respect for the people is too big.

"I couldn’t. I couldn’t for a second think about it. There’s no chance. This is part of my life, we are part of the family, we feel home here. There’s no chance to do that. But all the rest, will I ever work again? Of course, I know myself, I cannot just sit around.

"I will find something else maybe to do. But I will not manage a club or a country at least for a year, that’s not possible, I cannot do that and I don’t want to. That’s all."

Klopp took over as Red Bull's global head of soccer in January 2025, a role which he still occupies today. There has been no immediate suggestion that he plans to leave the company but he appeared to open the door to another Liverpool stint during an appearance on the Diary of a CEO podcast in October.

"I said I would never coach a different team in England. So that means if [I returned to the Premier League] then it’s Liverpool. Yeah, theoretically it’s possible," he said.

At the time, he made it clear he didn't miss coaching, though he accepted things might change one day. "I’m 58. From your perspective that might be old, but from other perspectives, it’s not that old," he added.

"That means I could make a decision in a few years. I don’t know. Do I have to make a decision today? I will not coach again, but thank God I do not have to do that, I can just see what the future brings."

Former Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte predcited an issue that the club would face in the future

Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte had previously predicted that the club could be dragged into a relegation scrap. The Italian tactician spent fewer than 18 months at the helm but delivered a stark warning during his time in charge.

Tottenham are positioned just one point above the drop zone with nine fixtures left to play. Igor Tudor's squad suffered a 3-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace on Thursday, stretching Spurs' winless streak to 11 league outings, having failed to secure a single Premier League win in 2026.

Conte, who replaced Nuno Espirito Santo in November 2021, boasted an impressive track record. He won the Premier League crown as Chelsea boss in 2017 and had captured the fourth Serie A title of his managerial career just months prior to his Spurs arrival.

After reaching the 2019 Champions League final, Tottenham had started slipping down the table before Conte took over. While the coach guided the club back into the top four during his debut campaign, the 56-year-old pointed to Everton as an example of a team facing an improbable relegation fight.

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"The level of this league is so high," Conte said in March 2022. "You have to pay great attention and it's my forecast that in the future it will be worse.

"Worse in the sense that it will be very, very difficult and then you'll have to pay [even] greater attention. Teams that at this moment seem to be in the middle, they could slip. For sure, Everton is a good example."

The previous season, Everton had been tipped to challenge for European qualification under Carlo Ancelotti. Yet successive managerial changes sparked relegation worries before they ultimately secured 16th place.

"You look at the squad of Everton, their players, and you can think it's impossible that Everton is fighting relegation," Conte explained. "That they had such an important coach in Rafa Benitez, who won the Champions League and titles, and was sacked. And now they're fighting for the relegation zone.

"Everton is a good example to understand that this league is very, very difficult and in the future it will become much more difficult."

Conte's warning that mid-table sides would face increased jeopardy has seemingly proved accurate this campaign, with Wolves and West Ham United both occupying bottom-three positions. Furthermore, the Italian boss had already categorised Tottenham as being "in the middle", heightening concerns about a potential relegation battle.

Back in January 2022, after a 2-0 loss to Chelsea, Conte said of Spurs: "If you compare the two teams there is not a comparison. We are talking about a team ready to win - today we have seen the difference between the two teams. We are a team in the middle.

"This game confirmed what I thought about the difference between the teams. In the last years the level of Tottenham has dropped a lot."

He added: "There is a lot of work to do, in this moment, it is very difficult to understand which part you take to improve because there is a lot of situations to improve. We need so much time and patience."

Tottenham find themselves firmly in a relegation battle after losing 2-1 at home to Crystal Palace, leading fans to call for Igor Tudor's sacking after only three games in charge

Beleaguered Igor Tudor has refused to confirmed whether he'll be in charge for Tottenham's next game. Croatian boss Tudor has lost all three of his games in charge of Spurs, who are in the thick of a relegation battle.

Thursday's damning 3-1 defeat at home to Crystal Palace has left Spurs just one point above the relegation zone with nine matches left to avoid the drop. Tudor was in a spiky mood post-match and when asked if he'd be in the dugout for Tottenham's Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid next Tuesday, the former Juventus manager gave a two-word response.

"No comment," Tudor told TNT Sports. The 47-year-old then refused to entertain any questions about his hot-button future, saying: "I don't think in that direction, I have a job to do, that's all."

Tudor added: "We need to stop speaking about pressure. This is not a topic to speak about."

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Despite the loss, with Spurs having taken the lead before a first-half collapse, Tudor feels more confident about survival than prior to the clash. "It sounds strange, but I believe more after this game than I believed before," he explained.

"I saw something; some energy, some passion. I need to choose the right guys because the boat is going in the direction I want it to go and needs to go and who is in the boat can stay. Otherwise, they can leave the boat.

"So when the other players will come back and choosing the right players I am sure we will have a good team and the victories will come. It is not easy to accept the moment where we are now but it is how it is. It's about believing and growing. There are still nine games to play."

Should Tottenham sack Igor Tudor? Have your say in the comments section.

Tottenham's next domestic game is away to Liverpool on Sunday, March 15. They'll then play the return leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie before a massive home game against Nottingham Forest, the team directly below them.

Tudor might not make that far, though, as he's facing calls for the sack less than three weeks after taking the job. Spurs are on a row run of five consecutive defeats and their last victory in the Premier League came in December under Thomas Frank.

Tottenham Hotspur sit just one point clear of the relegation places in the Premier League but have been far more consistent in Europe this season

As Tottenham Hotspur fans deal with the very real threat of relegation, the London side occupy an unlikely position. They might be just one point clear of the bottom three, but they are also into the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Spurs finished fourth in the league phase of the European competition to march straight into the round of 16. Remarkably, they boasted the exact same record in last season's Europa League - fourth spot with five wins, two draws and a defeat - before going on to win that competition.

Last season's run came at the expense of Spurs' league form, though they never found themselves in as much danger as they do this term, thanks in large part to three teams failing to breach 30 points in the Premier League.

This term, though, West Ham in 18th and Nottingham Forest in 17th each have 28 points from 29 games, with Spurs themselves on 29. If the unthinkable happens and Spurs slip down to the Championship, though, it wouldn't stop them playing in Europe next season.

If they win the continent's top prize, which qualifies them to defend their crown next season, and finish 18th domestically, they would not be stopped from playing Champions League and Championship football in the same campaign. No team has ever played in both simultaneously.

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But it's a different story with other European competitions. Most recently, Wigan Athletic won the 2012/13 FA Cup but were relegated in the same season, leaving new manager Owen Coyle contending with a Europa League group stage campaign on top of what would end up being an unsuccessful promotion push.

They aren't the only ones, either. Birmingham City also had a Europa League campaign after combining their League Cup win with relegation in 2011, while Ipswich Town qualified for the UEFA Cup through the fair play rankings in 2002 despite failing to cling onto Premier League survival, reaching the second round.

While they wouldn't be banned, and a Champions League trophy would significantly soften the blow of going down, it would put Spurs in the unenviable position of balancing the expanded European format with the notoriously tricky 46-game league campaign.

Their next Premier League match comes against Liverpool, while relegation rivals Forest and West Ham face Fulham and Manchester City respectively. Before then, though, Tudor's team travel to Atletico Madrid's Estadio Metropolitano for the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie.

They've already played Spanish opposition once this season, in their European opener. On that occasion, an own goal from Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Junior was enough to give Spurs all three points.

Atletico were forced to come through a play-off tie with Club Brugge. After a 3-3 draw away from home, they triumphed 4-1 on home turf to progress. But it's Spurs who will have the advantage of hosting the second leg this time, although how strong an advantage that is in their current predicament could be questioned.