A nail-biting finish to miserable season for Spurs
[Getty Images] Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be no place for the faint-hearted on Sunday, with the club's Premier League status on the line against Everton. Spurs need only a point to survive, but the air will be heavy with nervous tension as Robert de Zerbi's side attempt to avoid their first relegation from the top tier since 1977. If Spurs did go down, it would be the biggest relegation of a generation - perhaps since Manchester United were relegated to the old Second Division in 1974.
The loss at Chelsea on Tuesday meant Spurs' fate would not be decided until the final day in front of their own fans – but this may not be the advantage it initially seems. Spurs' form has been dreadful all season, but this has especially been the case at home, where their record is embarrassingly bad. They have won only two league games at home this season, the last coming on 6 December under the management of Thomas Frank, when they beat his former club Brentford 2-0.
Even under De Zerbi, they have been unable to crack the code as they have drawn against Brighton and Leeds United . And in Everton , they face a team whose own home form has been poor but markedly better on their travels, where they have enjoyed wins at places such as Aston Villa and Manchester United. David Moyes' team have nothing to play for having seen their own European ambitions evaporate, but they do not give out free passes, as proved when they almost beat Manchester City at Hill Dickinson Stadium recently.
The good news for Spurs is that they reach his defining point with their destiny in their own hands – but that is unlikely to make it any less nail-biting for a fanbase that has suffered so much in a miserable season.