"I can’t believe it. Tottenham look like they’re heading for relegation," said Carragher, warning that their relegation rivals had "more to offer". This defeat leaves the London club 18th after 32 of 38 matchdays—their first spell in the drop zone for 17 years. Despite sitting just two points above the drop zone, 15th-placed Leeds United, 16th-placed Nottingham Forest and 17th-placed West Ham United have all been picking up points recently.
Spurs have not won in the Premier League since late December, a run of 111 days that will stretch to 125 when they host Brighton & Hove Albion this Saturday. Against Sunderland, Carragher saw an “even worse performance” than in the preceding weeks and pointed to the meagre tally of 0.15 expected goals in the second half. Yet the new coach, Roberto De Zerbi—the third manager at Spurs this season after Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor—was supposed to turn things around.
In the crucial weeks ahead, they still face bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton Wanderers and rivals Leeds United, among others. Yet Carragher believes that, in their current form, Spurs would have “no chance” even against the Wolves. “On paper, the run-in looks kind to Tottenham,” Carragher added. “But they [Spurs] are terrible right now; they’re an easy opponent for anyone.”