Friday’s briefing: Tottenham survival hopes hit and Championship shake-up

Tottenham’s survival hopes took a turn for the worse after a slumping to a 3-1 home defeat by Crystal Palace, with Micky van de Ven having been sent off.

The EFL announced a proposal had been passed to increase the number of teams in the Championship play-offs to six from next season.

Friday night will see the first of the FA Cup fifth round ties, with Wolves hosting Liverpool.

Problems continue for lacklustre Spurs

Tottenham’s survival hopes took a turn for the worse after a nightmare 24-hour period concluded with a 3-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace following Micky van de Ven’s foolish sending-off.

Spurs started the night only one point outside the bottom three of the Premier League table after rivals West Ham had won at Fulham – making relegation to the Championship a serious possibility for the north London club.

When Ismaila Sarr had a goal disallowed for offside and it was soon followed by a 34th-minute opener for Dominic Solanke, Tottenham’s luck appeared set to turn.

However, Van de Ven’s inexplicable red-card for a blatant pull back on Sarr inside the area earned the stand-in home captain his marching orders.

Sarr tucked away the resulting spot-kick and scored again during a chaotic end to the first half in between Jorgen Strand Larsen’s low effort.

A fifth consecutive defeat leaves Spurs looking anxiously over their shoulder – and caretaker boss Igor Tudor facing serious question marks over whether or not he is the right man to guide the club out of relegation trouble.

The Croatian, though, continues to look for positives. “I will tell you now maybe it will sound strange, but I believe more after this game than I believed before. I saw something,” he said.

Championship play-offs set for revamp

The Championship play-offs will feature six teams from next season.

The EFL announced its clubs had passed a proposal to increase the number of play-off participants from four to six at an all-club meeting on Thursday.

Supporters of the change believe it will create more interest in the run-in to the Championship season, as it gives more teams a chance to qualify for the post-season and a shot at promotion to the Premier League. Teams finishing between third and eighth will be involved.

EFL chief executive Trevor Birch said: “Since their introduction in 1986-87, the play-offs have become a highlight of the domestic football calendar, capturing the drama, suspense and jeopardy that make the EFL so special.

“Following several months of discussion with clubs and other stakeholders, we are confident this change will further strengthen the Championship as a competition and give more clubs and their supporters a genuine opportunity of achieving promotion.”

Results all that matter for Bukayo Saka

Bukayo Saka will not lose any sleep over criticism of how Arsenal go about looking to stay on course for the Premier League title.

The 1-0 victory at Brighton on Wednesday night – secured by an early scrappy goal from England forward Saka – moved the Gunners seven points clear at the top of the Premier League.

However, the win came with Mikel Arteta’s squad far from their best – and again found their pragmatic approach under the microscope.

Saka, though, is not about to let any of that detract focus from Arsenal’s collective aim.

“We fought for it,” said Saka. “In the end, we got the win, we got the result we wanted. We just feel good about it.

“The games keep coming. We keep getting results and that is the way we need to keep going.

“We have got another one today, so we are happy. We just need to keep continuing like this.”

What’s on today?

After pulling off a shock Premier League win over Liverpool in midweek, Rob Edwards’ side will be out to cause another upset in Friday night’s live FA Cup tie at Molineux.

In the quarter-finals of the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup, Falkirk take on Dunfermline at East End Park.

Preston will look to reignite their Sky Bet Championship play-off hopes when they host relegation battlers Oxford.

Several Premier League managers will be speaking ahead of the weekend’s remaining FA Cup ties.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe is first up on Friday morning, with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior both part of a busy afternoon schedule.