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Premier League Match Week 26: 5 Things to Watch For

By Afshin Zahraee

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Jul 26, 2014; Bridgeview, IL, USA; Tottenham Hotspur forward Harry Kane (37) reacts after scoring against the Chicago Fire during a friendly at Toyota Park. Tottenham Hotspur won the match 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports

3. Will Europa League Competition Continue to Hamper Tottenham and Everton’s EPL Form?

Three EPL sides took the pitch on Thursday night in Europa League action and will once again have to send a strong XI in crucial (maybe not as much for Everton) EPL matches on Sunday. Liverpool were recently thrust into the Europa League Round of 32 after being bounced from Champions League, so it will be difficult to tell if Europa League matches continue to be problematic as this is the first time they will be going through the Thursday-Sunday grind this season. Thus, we will touch on them later and focus this segment on those sides that have gone through the difficult fixture process this season.

Starting with the Toffees, Everton were victorious 4-1 against Young Boys in Wankdorf, Switzerland. The team will have to deal with quite a bit of travel and only two days to rest their legs completely before hosting Leicester City at Goodison Park on Sunday. Romelu Lukaku recorded a hat trick, in what Everton fans hope gets the Belgian striker spewing with confidence again. The Toffees controlled much of the match, but were forced to play a considerable amount of the second half a man down. This could lead to some tired legs this Sunday as they did play a strong XI on Thursday.

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Everton 0 Arsenal 1: Blues fall to third home defeat /

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    • Looking at the times Everton have traveled abroad for Europa League and had a short turnaround to EPL fixtures, it hasn’t boded well for the Liverpool based club. Upon returning from road Europa League action, Everton have won only 1 of 3 fixtures the following Sunday. This time, though, the competition in beatable as those two losses came at the hands of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, both on the road. Energy levels for Everton will definitely be worth watching in Sunday’s fixture.

    It’s been well known that Tottenham have suffered poor form following their Europa League exploits in previous years as well as this campaign. Even in situations where the North London side have played both the Europa League match and following EPL match at White Hart Lane, they’ve only won 50% of the time in the return Premier League match. Despite this, Mauricio Pochettino has seen more positive results than his predecessors in such cases.

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    • That said, it’s clear that the Argentine is frustrated having to balance three competitions (EPL, Europa League, and Capital One Cup). Harry Kane was relegated to the bench in a disappointing 1-1 home draw against Fiorentina in Thursday’s first leg of the Round of 32 Europa League match up. After being questioned on team selection, an angered manager explained that rotation will be important for Tottenham in this coming stretch:

    "“Maybe I need to explain one time more. We have a lot of games ahead. In 17 days, we need to play six games and potentially 10 games in 30 days. It’s difficult so we need to rotate and give the opportunity to play to all.”"

    In what is undoubtedly a crucial London Derby battle with heavy EPL Top 4 implications, Tottenham v. West Ham United is worth a Sunday watch.

    Next: No More Excuses for Manchester City

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