Even as the Covid scare continues to spread among the Premier League clubs, Liverpool will face Tottenham, hoping to keep pace with Manchester City at the top.
It has been a tumultuous week in the Premier League as several matches have had to be postponed amid rising Covid positive cases among clubs. Following an array of cancellations in midweek, six more games in the weekend round of fixtures have been called off. One of the four games scheduled to go ahead as planned will take place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday evening when Spurs play hosts to title contenders Liverpool.
It will be the first time Tottenham will be taking the field since their 3-0 win over Norwich City in the first week of December. The Lilywhites have seen three of their fixtures against Rennes (UEFA Europa Conference League), Brighton & Hove Albion and Leicester City get cancelled due to a Covid outbreak in the squad, which led to the shutting down of their training centre.
Antonio Conte has recovered most of his players back, though, and will be aiming to make it five games unbeaten in a row and get closer to fourth-placed Arsenal in the table. However, in Liverpool, the Lilywhites will be facing one of the most in-form teams in the Premier League currently. The Reds are on an eight-game winning run in all competitions, most recently defeating Newcastle United 3-1.
Just a point shy of league leaders Manchester City, Jurgen Klopp & co. will need to keep up the pressure on their rivals, who will be facing a Newcastle side that will be there for the taking on Sunday. Ahead of this big blockbuster clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at both teams.
Team News & Tactics
Tottenham Hotspur
? The boss' latest squad update ahead of tomorrow's clash with Liverpool. ?
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 18, 2021
Over the last couple of weeks, Tottenham have had nine first-team stars, seven staff members and several players from the Under-23 roster test positive for coronavirus. Antonio Conte has confirmed that of the nine players from the senior squad, only two remain in isolation, although their degree of involvement in Sunday’s game remains to be seen.
In addition to that, both Sergio Reguilon (hamstring) and Giovani Lo Celso (knee) have recovered from their injury troubles and are back in contention for selection. Summer signing Cristian Romero (thigh) remains unavailable. Conte will set his team up with a three-man defensive system comprising Eric Dier, Davinson Sanchez and Ben Davies, who will shield Hugo Lloris in goal.
With Emerson Royal recently recovering from Covid, he might not be sharp enough to start. That should see Japhet Tanganga get the nod at right wing-back while Reguilon slots in on the opposite side and looks to provide added width with his bombarding forward runs. However, the pair will also need to watch out for their Liverpool counterparts, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson.
The young Oliver Skipp and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg pick themselves for the north Londoners in midfield. The creative onus for the home team could likely fall onto the shoulders of the returning Lo Celso, who could take up the No. 10 slot. Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura might not be rushed back into action after their recovery from Covid, leaving Harry Kane and Steven Bergwijn to pair up in attack.
Probable Lineup (3-4-1-2): Lloris; Sanchez, Dier, Davies; Tanganga, Skipp, Hojbjerg, Reguilon; Lo Celso; Kane, Bergwijn
Liverpool
Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Curtis Jones are all set to miss out due to coronavirus, while Nathaniel Phillips, Harvey Elliott and Adrian injury-enforced absentees. Divock Origi is also a major doubt for the contest due to a knee issue. Jurgen Klopp is likely to make a few alterations to the side that beat Newcastle United earlier this week.
No alterations are expected at the back, though, with Alisson Becker guarding the Liverpool goal while Ibrahima Konate and Joel Matip form the heart of the backline. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson will be the full-backs on the right and left sides, respectively and will act as key chance-creating outlets for the home team.
Moving into midfield, captain Jordan Henderson is a certainty in the holding role in the absence of Fabinho. However, the other two slots in the centre could see changes. Naby Keita looked good in his cameo in midweek and may replace Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain while James Milner could get a run-out from the start, at the expense of Thiago Alcantara.
Mohamed Salah, who is in unstoppable form, is a certain starter on the right flank, while the same applies to Sadio Mane on the left. Through the middle, we could see Roberto Firmino come into the lineup in place of Diogo Jota. The Brazilian has enjoyed playing against Tottenham recently and will back himself to come good on Sunday.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Konate, Robertson; Keita, Henderson, Milner; Salah, Firmino, Mane
Key Stats
- Tottenham have won just one of their previous 17 Premier League games against Liverpool (D4 L12). They have lost each of the last six in a row.
- Liverpool have scored in each of their last 26 away games in all competitions, the longest such run in their history.
- None of Tottenham Hotspur’s previous 18 league games at home have ended in draws, with the Lilywhites winning 12 and losing six.
- Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino has scored five goals in his last six Premier League games against Tottenham, with three of these strikes ending up being the winning goal of the game.
- Antonio Conte has picked up just one victory in the four Premier League matches that he has managed against Liverpool (D2 L1).
Player to Watch
Mohamed Salah
? @MoSalah has either scored or assisted a goal in 15 consecutive #PL appearances
He equals the longest such run in the competition set by Jamie Vardy in 2015 ? pic.twitter.com/HukhVcXqvV
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 17, 2021
One of the most in-form players in the Premier League, Mohamed Salah’s brilliance in the final third has been key to Liverpool ramping up the pressure on league leaders Manchester City. With 15 goals from 17 matches, the 29-year-old is currently the leading goalscorer in the competition. He is also the highest assist-getter with nine to his name.
The Egyptian superstar has either scored or assisted a goal in each of his last 15 Premier League appearances. Another goal involvement at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will set a new record in the competition. In 14 games against Spurs in all competitions, Salah has scored eight times and given his current form, he could add to that tally on Sunday evening.
Prediction
Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool
Tottenham will be playing their first game in two weeks and coming up against a Liverpool side who are hitting top gear. So, even though the Lilywhites have managed to get a string of positive results at home under Antonio Conte, things will be much more difficult this weekend.
With the likes of Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura only recently returning after recovering from coronavirus, there will be signs of rust while they might not even be involved from the start. And considering how poor Harry Kane has been of late, the north Londoners might struggle to muster up much treat in attack.
At the other end, though, Mohamed Salah is in top form and cause all sorts of problems to the Tottenham defence. The Hard Tackle, thus, expects Liverpool to pick up a rather straightforward win against Conte’s Tottenham.
