EPL Oddity: Over Half Fans Prefer Home Team Loss to Prevent Rivals' Triumph!

Iti911

Arsenal and Tottenham, both North London teams, share a deep-rooted rivalry, with fans rarely wishing success upon the other. An interesting situation has arisen: Tottenham faces Manchester City in the final round of the Premier League. If Tottenham wins, it could potentially help their arch-rivals Arsenal win the league title. Consequently, many Tottenham fans are calling for their team to lose to prevent Arsenal from winning the championship.

As the Premier League enters its final round, Arsenal has already played and secured a victory, temporarily leading the table with a one-point advantage due to having played an extra match. Meanwhile, Manchester City is set to challenge Tottenham away, needing a win to ensure they control their fate in the title race. Tottenham now faces a dilemma: win the game to maintain their slim hopes for Champions League qualification but witness their rivals' triumph, or lose and deny Arsenal the title but miss out on Champions League qualification themselves.

Both options present challenges for Tottenham, and an interesting scene has emerged among the fans, with opinions divided into two camps. According to a survey on foreign social media, 56% of participating fans believe Tottenham should lose to Manchester City to prevent their rivals from winning the title, while the remaining 44% think the team should focus on their own performance and aim for victory. Additionally, reports from The Sun suggest that 5,000 tickets for the Tottenham vs. Manchester City match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium remain unsold, indirectly reflecting the complex sentiments of the fans towards the game.

Despite the fans' sentiments, Tottenham's manager and players hold a different view. Manager Nuno Espirito Santo believes that fans hoping for their team to lose are in the minority and that the majority of fans want their team to win. Their objective for the game is clear: to secure victory and secure qualification for the UEFA Champions League next season. Tottenham player Harry Kane also expressed that they are not concerned about Arsenal's situation and are solely focused on winning the match, which is their only consideration.

Jafar224

London has many football teams, but the rivalry between Arsenal and Tottenham in North London runs deepest, especially in the past 20 years as Tottenham has risen. Neither team has won the Premier League title during this period, but they have been contenders. So, when Arsenal has a chance to win the Premier League title, one can imagine how unhappy Tottenham fans would be. However, suggesting that Tottenham has a chance to help Arsenal win the title is giving Tottenham too much credit. Their opponent is Manchester City, a team that has never shown mercy in title races. Just ask Liverpool how it feels to finish second by just one point. Despite Tottenham's task of securing a Champions League spot, Aston Villa currently leads by 5 points. If Villa wins their next game, fourth place is theirs. So, there's no scenario where Tottenham sacrifices Champions League qualification to prevent Arsenal from winning or hands the title to Manchester City because, frankly, Tottenham isn't good enough for Champions League qualification and can't beat Manchester City. Even if Tottenham somehow beats or draws with Manchester City, Arsenal fans won't thank them, they'll mock them for not winning any titles or qualifying for the Champions League. When Arsenal plays Tottenham next season, it'll still be a heated rivalry. As an Arsenal fan, I have no hope for Tottenham because they simply can't beat Manchester City.

Shri

The Tottenham Hotspur manager might be thinking, 'Are you guys Arsenal spies?' for actually telling us to lose...?

Ritu77

In some matches, teams deliberately lose to avoid facing strong opponents in the next match, ensuring they ultimately achieve a better ranking. This is also one of the toughest aspects in football.

Ritu13

Haha, is this everyone sinking together mentality... so cynical, isn't it?

Janak9955

Regarding this situation, I can only say that the Tottenham fans did a great job. As the saying goes, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Why do I say that Tottenham did a great job? A hundred years ago, Arsenal made things tough for Tottenham. A hundred years later, we won't make things easy for them. Tottenham has always been a natural nemesis for Manchester City, previously achieving a double victory against them. But this time, they lost unexpectedly, and by two goals. Grudges and hatred will never be resolved in this lifetime. That's human nature!