Aston Villa star Ollie Watkins has discussed the top four race with Tottenham, following a huge weekend of action.
The race for a top-four finish in the Premier League continues to take twists and turns at every corner. Tottenham and Aston Villa have continued to cede control over guaranteed Champions League qualification throughout the season.
The latest weekend of action in the top flight only continued this trend as Spurs shipped four goals away at Newcastle, resulting in defeat. Local rivals Arsenal played host to league rivals Villa at the Emirates Stadium.
Goals from Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey stunned the Gunners, blowing open the title race while switching the advantages in the race for the top-four.
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There are no guarantees over whether fifth-place will land a place in the Champions League for next season. So with that in mind, both teams will be making a huge push to secure that in the final few games.
Some of those fixtures are tough, with both teams still set to face Liverpool, while Ange Postecoglou also has to welcome Manchester City and Arsenal to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Ollie Watkins north London derby claim
Following Watkins’ winner against Arsenal, it’s advantage Aston Villa in the race for fourth. The Midlands outfit have points on the board and have managed to navigate past some of their tougher fixtures in recent weeks.
READ MORE: Tottenham fixtures compared to Aston Villa in top four race after Newcastle defeat
Despite that, the England international believes that Tottenham could earn a result against their north London rivals next time out to keep them in the race. “I think it has been a very similar season to Spurs,” Watkins told Football London.
“If they came here [Arsenal] and won nobody would be surprised. They play a similar style to us. Some people may be surprised by that result but I’m not. We’ve shown what we can do against the big teams and we deserve to be where we are.”
North London derby preview
Tottenham have two weeks between their games, meaning that their return will be the big north London derby against Arsenal. Spurs have already shown their ability to play against some of those at the very top, earning a 2-2 draw with the Gunners in the reverse fixture.
The main concern for Postecoglou will be denying the away side’s attack, as the Lilywhites have struggled defensively as of late. They will need the type of resolve shown by Villa, who hung in there for the first half before finding chances in the second half.
Unai Emery may well have shown Tottenham the blueprint towards getting a result of their own in a few weeks.