Tottenham Hotspur trails Manchester City and Manchester United by seven and five points, respectively, with 13 Premier League matches remaining. The two leaders have dropped 12 and 14 points, respectively, through their first 25 matches.

It does not take a mathematician to realize that this does not shape up well for Spurs' title hopes.

However, there is one saving grace: Today, Tottenham does not have a match.

And that is why they are still very much alive in the title hunt.

In today's action, Manchester City battles Porto, while Manchester United takes on Ajax, in the first legs of their Europa League ties.

Meanwhile, Spurs have no European worries and can rest for and concentrate on their upcoming Premier League ties.

Today marks the beginning of the two Manchester clubs' European distractions, matches that will cause them to expend energy for a second-rate competition.

And to make matters worse for them, they face worthy opponents (Porto is last year's Europa League champion and Ajax was knocked out of the Champions League in suspicious circumstances).

Perhaps it will not make a difference, but the two Manchester clubs are now more susceptible to injuries and fatigue than Spurs are.

The chances of these fatigue or injury issues striking Man City and Man United and causing them to drop points is what is keeping Tottenham's title hopes alive.

It's quite a statement about a competition when a club is rejoicing that they have been eliminated.