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Tottenham Hotspur’s loss to Burnley could not have come at a worse time.
A trip to Turf Moor should have been a guaranteed three points for a team still in with a shout of winning the Premier League title.
But theirs was a stodgy, defensively naive performance against a bruising Burnley side who played the role of spoilers to perfection. Goals from Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes put paid to Spurs’ hopes of turning up the heat on both Liverpool and Manchester City.
It would be churlish to claim that Spurs’ title hopes are over; there are 11 games of the season left and they still have to play Jurgen Klopp’s side and Pep Guardiola’s champions.
But the fixture pile-up they are currently facing is no picnic. Spurs travel to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday to face a Chelsea side still bruised from their Carabao Cup final defeat to City on penalties, before facing Arsenal at the weekend. Those games are before a Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund in Germany. Afterwards, Spurs play Southampton and Crystal Palace before a trip to Anfield.
Now, winning every single game would do a lot to enhance Spurs’ reputation and ensure that they are still in the conversation at the top of the league, and would also see them cruise through to the Champions League quarter-finals.
But the inverse – a run of defeats, particularly against Chelsea and Arsenal – could see the club looking over their shoulder instead of up the table.
Spurs are eight points clear of fifth-placed Manchester United and seven ahead of the Gunners.
Losses to both the Blues and Arsenal – Unai Emery’s men play AFC Bournemouth on Wednesday – could see that lead chopped to one point in the blink of an eye.
This is, of course, is purely hypothetical. There is every chance that there could be two wins for Spurs or two draws – the latter could still see the lead down to four.
Tottenham have a history here. They have twice before blown a lead of seven points over the Gunners, and most recently, when they were battling Leicester City for the title, Spurs ended up third, a point behind Arsene Wenger’s side. Arsenal were never considered contenders.
Past Tottenham, Arsenal face only one other top-four contender before May, in Manchester United. United, meanwhile, still have to play City and Chelsea.
But the gap could close in on Harry Kane & Co if they cannot regain their form quickly.
It would be remiss not to mention the fact that Spurs enjoyed a run of five successive league victories before their defeat to Burnley, but they lost to Arsenal at the Emirates earlier this season and also went down to both City and Liverpool at Wembley.
History suggests, then, that there may not be too much fruit to bear from their upcoming run of games.
With the title race coming to a crunch period, Spurs face a defining week. Win both games, and beat Dortmund, and the ship is righted, the challenge at the top of the league still feasible.
But lose to both of their London rivals and they may well be reinserted into the race for the top four, watching both Liverpool and City battle it out for the title in the front row, powerless to jump the barricade and involve themselves in the fight.
There is, to put it bluntly, absolutely no room for error.
