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Football London
Football London
Sport
Rob Guest

What Jose Mourinho and Tottenham must do to secure Europa League spot and Arsenal's pivotal role

Jose Mourinho's Tottenham team are finishing the season strongly after three successive Premier League wins.

Coming in for much criticism after the drab 0-0 draw at relegation-threatened Bournemouth where they didn't even have a shot on target, Spurs have recorded important victories over Arsenal, Newcastle United and Leicester City since then.

The wins have put the Lilywhites sixth in the table with one game remaining, although Wolves will jump ahead of them if they beat Crystal Palace on Monday evening.

As Champions League football for 2020/21 is now out of the question following such a disappointing campaign in north London, Mourinho can still secure a place in the Europa League.

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But what do Spurs need to do in order to ensure they are playing in Europe once again next term? football.london takes a look at the possible scenarios.

Finish in sixth

The first Europa League spot is out of the equation for Spurs as they cannot finish in fifth as they trail Manchester United by four points with one game remaining.

Sixth would be enough to secure a spot in the competition and that will be the aim of Mourinho and his squad.

However, Wolves will finish ahead of the Lilywhites if they win their remaining two games of the campaign.

Nuno Espirito Santo's men will leapfrog Spurs this evening providing they beat Crystal Palace, before then travelling to Chelsea on the final day of the season.

Failure to win at Molineux tonight and it will be in Spurs' hands on the final day.

Whatever happens over the next few days, Tottenham need to win on Sunday against Palace to give themselves the best possible chance of qualifying for the Europa League.

Finish in seventh

Seventh could also be enough to qualify for the Europa League depending on the result of next month's FA Cup final.

As Chelsea are already guaranteed a European spot due to their position in table, an FA Cup win for Frank Lampard's team would mean whoever finishes in seventh gets the final Europa League position.

However, Arsenal could potentially have a big say on Spurs' European aspirations if Mourinho's side do finish outside the top six.

A victory for the Gunners, who are currently 10th, at Wembley would see them qualify for the competition instead of the team who end the campaign in seventh, thus meaning there's the possibility of them denying Spurs a European place altogether.

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