A 2-1 comeback victory over West Ham in the middle of the week finished Liverpool’s three games winning streak in the Premier League (PL), despite the fact that this season has ultimately been one of disappointment for Jürgen Klopp’s team. As a result, they are now in seventh place, although they will be hoping for at least a top six finish and UEFA Europa League qualification.
Even if the Reds have been winning, there are still concerns about their defense given that they have only maintained one clean sheet in their last eight games. The Anfield supporters will put up with their defensive flaws as long as their club keeps securing victories, which is always expected given that they have only lost once in their last 38 home Premier League games (W28, D9).
Tottenham Hotspur is one point ahead of Liverpool and holds down one of the UEL spots despite a dismal three games losing streak (D1, L2). The fact that Ryan Mason’s team has given up 11 goals in their last three games, four of which have come in the first ten minutes, raises a red flag. On Thursday, they came back from a 2-0 deficit to draw 2-2 with Manchester United.
Their most recent away game, a record breaking 6-1 loss to Newcastle, caused the majority of the damage and brought their road winless streak to seven games (D2, L5). A trip to Anfield is scarcely where they’d look for solace either, having only triumphed twice in their previous 35 league visits (D10, L23), increasing their concerns that Liverpool would pass them here, certainly ending any slender aspirations of securing a Champions League spot.
Mohamed Salah leads all Premier League players with seven goals versus Spurs since joining Liverpool, with two of those goals coming in the 2-1 victory in the reverse match. Harry Kane of Tottenham, who has scored in each of his team’s past three away games, will be hopeful of adding to his tally after scoring four goals in eight visits to Anfield.
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Stefan Bajcetic (adductor) and Calvin Ramsay (knee) are long term absentees, while Liverpool also had to do without Ibrahima Konate for the victory over West Ham because of some worries about his workload.
The Frenchman should, however, make an instant return to the backline today, demoting match winner Matip to the bench, and Roberto Firmino’s muscular issue won’t heal in time for Sunday either, according to Klopp, who confirmed this after the game. However, Naby Keita may have a remote chance of succeeding in his comeback due to a similar worry.
Recently, the Reds manager has been reluctant to bench Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota from the starting lineup, but after the Portuguese suffered a back injury on Wednesday, Klopp ought to think about bringing Darwin Nunez back into the lineup soon.
Hugo Lloris, a defensive pillar for Tottenham, missed the stalemate with Manchester United due to a hip injury he sustained during the first half of the team’s thrashing of Newcastle, and he won’t be starting in goal again this time.
For the visitors, who had Lucas Moura return from a three-game suspension on Thursday, Yves Bissouma (ankle), Rodrigo Bentancur (ACL), Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring), and Emerson Royal (knee) make up a quartet of known absences. However, Dejan Kulusevski is first in line for any attacking changes and should have a good chance of replacing Richarlison.
In particular, Eric Dier had a terrible night on Thursday, missing a close-range header and failing to close down the angle for Rashford’s goal. However, the Englishman shouldn’t be in any danger of losing his spot in the three men battle line.
Liverpool possible starting lineup
Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson, Henderson, Fabinho, Jones, Salah, Gakpo and Nunez.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup
Forster, Romero, Dier, Lenglet, Porro, Hojbjerg, Skipp, Perisic, Kulusevski, Kane and Son.
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We predict: Liverpool 3-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Although Klopp was pleased with his team’s defensive performance against West Ham, the Reds still conceded a lot of opportunities in midweek and shouldn’t hold out hope for a clean sheet against a goal happy Spurs team.
While both teams still have aspirations of cracking the top four, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the net ripple a few times in a classic Anfield match. However, despite Tottenham’s midweek comeback, a trip to Anfield, where they haven’t won since 2011, should still be a hurdle too far for them as their Anfield day woes appear destined to continue.