The Top Flight
Fansided

Premier League Preview: Tottenham vs Liverpool

By Mafidon Okupa

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 14: Christian Eriksen (L) of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring his team's second goal with Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur at Etihad Stadium on February 14, 2016 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 14: Christian Eriksen (L) of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring his team's second goal with Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur at Etihad Stadium on February 14, 2016 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /
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Preview

Tottenham goes into this one off the back of a very impressive draw against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu in the Champions League. In that game, Tottenham was solid at the back as usual, but with a team like Real Madrid, they will surely have chances and Mauricio Pochettino’s men had their goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris, to thank after he made some pretty sublime saves to deny the likes of Ronaldo and Benzema.

The start of the season had been somewhat underwhelming for Tottenham but they have found some stability since Harry Kane found his scoring boots again – and they will be hoping that they can get a win against a side they haven’t beaten since 2012.

Spurs look like they have finally settled down at Wembley – a place that has proven much of a hoodoo in the last few months. Wins against Dortmund and Bournemouth last time out in the Premier League have ensured that they’re more comfortable playing there.

Liverpool put their season back on track with a resounding victory over Maribor in the Champions League; that 7-0 win becoming a competition and club record. Goals have been hard to come by for the side due to squandered opportunities and a much-maligned defence has not helped, but the side would be hoping that the rout against the Slovenian champions opens the floodgates in subsequent games.

Jurgen Klopp should be confident going into this game having never tasted defeat against Tottenham – the team he managed his first ever Liverpool game against in 2015.

Last season’s results in this fixture include a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane and 2-0 reversal in favour of Liverpool at Anfield. A League Cup fixture was played in between, with Liverpool coming out of that one as 2-1 winners. These results should give Liverpool the psychological edge going into this one.

Team News

Ben Davies, Moussa Dembele, Victor Wanyama and Erik Lamela remain on the sidelines for the hosts, although they can welcome Danny Rose back – the left back having played his first game since the start of the year against Madrid.

The visitors, meanwhile, will be without Sadio Mané, Adam Lallana and Nathaniel Clyne who are all suffering from long-term injuries.

Verdict

With the previous history of this fixture, one would expect goals in this game. Unlike Jose Mourinho and his United side that came to Anfield to frustrate, both Pochettino and Klopp will want their teams to attack the game with the expectation of getting a win.

Both sides have an abundance of exciting players with Kane, Eriksen, Alli and Son on one side and Coutinho, Salah, Firmino and Sturridge on the other, but with current form and momentum on their side, Tottenham has to be regarded as slight favourites for this one.

Next: Manchester United: Zlatan Ibrahimović returns to training

Liverpool will confidently approach this game off the back of a good win and the fact that history is on their side. They will be hoping to get a win here to prove that their season is really back on track.

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