With Tottenham assured of second place in the Premier League and Hull already condemned to relegation, Harry Kane’s bid to win the golden boot will be the focus of attention at the KC Stadium on Sunday.
Kane moved two goals clear of Everton’s Romelu Lukaku in the race to finish the Premier League’s top scorer when he scored four times in Tottenham’s 6-1 victory at Leicester on Thursday.
That performance took Kane’s haul to 26 goals and underlined his importance to Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
The England forward’s tally has been amassed from just 29 league appearances and Kane appears certain to retain the trophy he won with a total of 25 goals last season.
“I was looking to get one or two at least and take it into the last game but now I’m in the driving seat,” said Kane.
Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is battling Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois for the golden glove, but after conceding against Leicester, the France international has 15 clean sheets compared to Courtois’ 16.
Lloris though is a doubt for the trip to Hull after suffering a knee injury at Leicester.
Pochettino would have hoped to have something more significant to fight for on the final day of the season after pushing Chelsea for so long in the title race.
In the end, it was the defeat at West Ham two weeks ago that allowed Antonio Conte’s side to secure the championship without being forced to suffer a nervous run-in.
Pochettino, though, can take heart from his dynamic young side’s continued progress this season.
Tottenham’s wage bill is less than half that of Chelsea’s, highlighting the Argentine’s achievement in getting the club to punch above its financial weight.
– Departure –
The challenge will be to maintain that improvement next season and Kane is among the Tottenham stars to have voiced their determination to stay.
However, Kyle Walker is a target for Manchester City, who are likely to offer the England right-back the chance to double his wages.
Meanwhile, Marco Silva is set to confirm his departure from Hull next week, paving the way for the Portuguese coach to open talks with soon to be managerless Watford.
The 39-year-old will meet the club’s board on Wednesday but is ready to inform them of his decision to leave.
Silva, who took charge of Hull in January, has been offered an extension to his contract, which is due to expire at the end of the season, despite his failure to prevent the club from dropping back into the Championship.
The former Olympiakos manager is ready to speak to Watford, who will part company with current boss Walter Mazzarri after Sunday’s final round of games.
Asked if the third-bottom Hull can match his ambitions in the second tier, Silva said: “That’s not an easy question.
“The chairman has shown an interest in keeping our staff, but we will talk again next week. It’s impossible to talk about other clubs at this stage because Hull deserve my respect.
“I’ve had no other offers at this point, we will have one more meeting (with the owners) on Wednesday then we will announce our decision.”
AFP
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