Tottenham face Liverpool . The Reds are 17 league matches unbeaten but will face a tough examination against Ange Postecoglu’s free-flowing Spurs. The hosts have lost nine of their last 11 matches versus Jurgen Klopp’s team in all competitions.
Spurs Form
It’s been a very positive start to the season for Spurs with four wins and two draws in six matches. They’ve already rescued eight points from losing positions thanks to their attacking approach under their new coach. A fine 2-0 home win over Man Utd preceded a 2-0 win at Bournemouth. That was followed by exiting the Carabao Cup on penalties after a 1-1 draw vs. Fulham.
After that, a Son hattrick helped turn a deficit at Burnley into a thrilling 5-2 win. Two very late goals then sealed a comeback to beat Sheffield United 2-1 at home. In their last match, they twice trailed away at Arsenal but came back from 1-0 and 2-1 down to earn a 2-2 draw. Son scored both goals in an especially strong second half.
Spurs Team News
Spurs are without Ivan Perisic due to a long-term injury and Rodrigo Bentancur is at least a month away from returning in midfield. Fringe players in Gio Lo Celso, Ryan Sessegnon, and Bryan Gil are all on the treatment table.
Ange Postecoglu will hope that James Maddison can shake off a knee complaint to start this match. Meanwhile, Brennan Johnson felt his hamstring in the draw at Arsenal and is not likely to recover in time to start this match. Manor Solomon is the favourite to take his place with Richarlison remaining on the bench.
Spurs Motivation
Tottenham have had a full week to prepare and will be 100% focused and motivated. They will play to win this match from the first whistle.
Postecoglu’s attacking style of play won’t change for any opponent so expect them to create chances but also leave plenty of space for Liverpool to enjoy.
Liverpool Form
Jurgen Klopp’s side are now 17 matches unbeaten in the league. Last season ended with an 11-match undefeated streak and this term has seen one draw followed by five league victories. Including a Europa League and a Carabao Cup win, it’s seven wins on the bounce. A superb comeback from 1-0 down at Newcastle to win 2-1 with ten men preceded a 3-0 win over Aston Villa.
After trailing 1-0 at the break, they came back to win 3-1 at Wolves before dispatching LASK 3-1 away in the Europa League. They’ve since made it four 3-1 victories in a row, first beating West Ham by that margin and then beating Leicester with the same scoreline. Both victories saw them put up 3.03 Expected Goals.
Liverpool Team News
Jurgen Klopp has only two injury concerns. Thiago Alcantara is about a month away from a return but Trent Alexander-Arnold is closer. He did some of the training this week but Liverpool may be cautious and leave him out for this match.
Joe Gomez is set to cover at right back after Curtis Jones played out of position in midweek. Virgil Van Dijk and Andy Robertson had full rests against Leicester. All of Darwin Nunez, Mo Salah, and Luis Diaz will return in the front three whilst it’s a straight choice between Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch for the final spot in the midfield trio.
Liverpool Motivation
The Reds are looking to return to being title contenders so they have to go all out for the win here. Klopp has real firepower on the bench to turn matches.
Liverpool knows Spurs will play an open game with space to exploit on transitions. They’ve largely been conceding and outscoring opponents this season.
Key Stats
Tottenham’s Son has scored 5 goals in his last 3 matches
Spurs have scored 2+ goals in each of their 6 league matches this season
Spurs have seen Over 2.5 goals in 12 of their last 15 league matches
Liverpool are 17 league matches unbeaten (12 wins, 5 draws)
Liverpool have scored exactly 3 goals in each of their last 5 matches
Liverpool have won 9 of their last 11 matches vs Tottenham (all competitions)
Verdict
This game looks certain to have plenty of goals. It’s hard to see less than four goals in this fixture with each side scoring twice. Backing the goals market looks like the wisest move whilst Liverpool does tend to beat Tottenham.