Preview: Liverpool vs. Tottenham
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
The Reds look to regain momentum when they welcome Spurs to Anfield.
Liverpool vs. Tottenham Hotspur
| Sunday, October 27th |
Premier League | Anfield
4:30PM GMT/12:30PM EST
Liverpool will be looking to cap off league play in October on a high note when they take on Spurs for the first time since their Champions League victory. Last week ended in a disappointing draw at Old Trafford where very few of the players came out looking good, but an emphatic Champions League win to Genk will have hopefully bolstered their confidence.
Good news is that Trent Alexander-Arnold is fit enough to rejoin the team after missing out in Belgium during the week. Joel Matip’s inclusion is less certain, and it’s likely that we’ll see Joe Gomez in his preferred centre-back position in this match. Big Shaq is also still suffering from a calf problem, but otherwise Klopp has a fit team to choose from.
Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs side is not having the start to the season that they must have hoped for after taking the Champions League by storm last season. They’re currently barely clinging to the top 10 with only 12 points to their name. They’ve yet to win a league game in October, though they did batter Red Star Belgrade in Europe during the week.
Harry Kane, as ever, is the one to look out for up front, but Son Heung-Min consistently impresses.
Spurs have looked shaky in the back all season so far, despite having the talent of Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld anchoring their back line. If Mohamed Salah, or especially Sadio Mané, continue in their current form, it’s hard to see them not scoring at Anfield.
Projected Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Mané
After his brace against Genk, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain may see another start in this game. In fact, the midfield is what’s the trickiest to predict for this match. It’s at Anfield, so Klopp might feel comfortable fielding a more attacking midfield set-up with the likes of the previously mentioned Oxlade-Chamberlain or even Naby Keïta, who was a standout last week against United.
The defense depends on Matip’s fitness, but now that Alexander-Arnold is back in business, if Matip isn’t available, it will likely be Gomez who fills his spot instead of Lovren. The front three is the front three is the front three.
For Spurs, Sessegnon and Lloris remain out of commission, which means that Gazzaniga retains his spot in goal.
How Pochettino sets up will be more of a mystery. If Tanguy Ndombele can start again after playing 90 minutes on Wednesday, he may be in that back pivot with Sissoko. However, Erik Lamela impressed against Red Star Belgrade, so it’s possible that he’ll retain his spot in the midfield. And then there’s the further drama of whatever backroom fracas is happening between Pochettino and Christian Eriksen. Will he make an appearance?
What the Managers Had to Say
Jürgen Klopp: “The situation of Tottenham I cannot judge because I have no idea what happens there and stuff like this. Football is like this, from time to time things don’t work out. But now we saw that game [against Red Star], and it was not the only game – even in the other games, when the results were not really there they had good moments as well.”
Mauricio Pochettino: “When we work on team bonding it is to generate something between us in the group to help us to perform and fight to help your team-mates because you know them better. These things are always a positive and never a negative.”
The Officials
Referee: Anthony Taylor. Assistants: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn. Fourth official: Mike Dean. VAR: Paul Tierney. Assistant VAR: Dan Robathan
Kickoff is set for 4:30PM GMT/12:30PM EST tomorrow, and television listings for the match can be found on LiveSoccerTV. In the meantime, we’ll be keeping you updated with all the buildup to the game, including team news as it’s released, our live matchday thread, and post-match recaps from The Liverpool Offside staff. If you want to join the discussion, sign up for an SB Nation account to have your say on the action as it happens.
Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
Post a Comment