Liverpool travel to London for their next Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
The Reds will be looking to build on their midweek win over Napoli in the Champions League and get their season back on track. They were beaten by Leeds United in their last league game at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp will demand a strong reaction from his players and it remains to be seen whether they can step up and deliver.
Meanwhile, Tottenham have done quite well this season and are third in the Premier League table. They will be looking to sustain a title challenge this season and they need to win games like these in order to stay in touch with Manchester City and Arsenal.
Antonio Conte’s side have picked up two thrilling wins over Bournemouth and Marseille in their last two outings and they will be full of confidence heading into this contest. Tottenham are the team in form here and they should be able to grind out a win in front of their own fans.
Team News and Tactics
Tottenham
The home side will be without the services of star defender Cristian Romero. Attackers Son Heung-Min and Richarlison are also ruled out with injuries.
We can confirm that Heung-Min Son will undergo surgery to stabilise a fracture around his left eye.
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) November 2, 2022
The Londoners are expected to line up in their usual 3-5-2 formation with captain Hugo Lloris in goal. The back three will comprise of Eric Dier, Clement Lenglet and Ben Davies. Romero’s absence could be a blow against the likes of Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez.
In the midfield, Yves Bissouma, Rodrigo Bentancur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg will form the trio. The Malian star will look to break up play and Bentancur will drive the team forward with his passing and bulldozing runs. Hojbjerg will look to dictate the tempo of the game.
Ryan Sessegnon and Ivan Perisic are likely to be deployed as the full-backs.
In the attack, Lucas Moura is likely to partner Harry Kane. Dejan Kulusevski has returned to training but he might not start here because of his lack of match fitness.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Lloris; Dier, Lenglet, Davies; Sessegnon, Bissouma, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Perisic; Moura, Kane
Liverpool
The visitors have a number of injury issues to deal with. They will be without Joel Matip, Arthur Melo, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota. Naby Keita is back in training but he is not ready for the game yet. The Guinean is yet to play this season and he is severely lacking in match fitness.
Jürgen Klopp discussed a range of topics during his #TOTLIV press conference this morning ⤵️
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 4, 2022
Klopp is expected to continue with his 4-4-2 setup and Alisson Becker will continue in goal.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson will start as the full-backs and they will look to cause problems for Spurs going forward. The two could get the license to attack here especially now that Spurs are without Richarlison and Son.
In the central defence, Ibrahima Konate should partner Virgil Van Dijk. The two players were exceptional against Napoli.
Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho will reprise their roles as the wide midfielders. The two will look to add some width and overload the midfield when needed. They will add creativity and link up with the attackers as well.
Thiago Alcãntara will partner Fabinho at the heart of Liverpool’s midfield. The Brazilian will need to improve on his recent performances against the likes of Bentancur and Hojbjerg. Both Spurs players are in good form and they will look to dominate the midfield contest here.
Mohamed Salah will partner Darwin Nunez in the attack. Both players have been scoring lately and they will fancy their chances of getting on the scoresheet in the absence of Romero.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Elliott, Fabinho, Thiago, Carvalho; Salah, Nunez
Key Stats
- Liverpool are undefeated in their last 10 matches against Tottenham in all competitions.
- Tottenham have conceded at least 2 goals in their last 3 matches (Premier League).
- Liverpool have failed to win their last 5 away matches (Premier League).
- Tottenham have failed to win three of their last five matches in all competitions.
- Liverpool have kept four clean sheets in their last six matches across all competitions.
Player to watch out for
Darwin Nunez
In the absence of Romero, Spurs could struggle against a physically dominating forward like Nunez. The Uruguayan has pace to burn and he is good in the air. He could cause all sorts of problems for Spurs here.
Nunez has been in good scoring form as well. He has bagged five goals in his last seven appearances.
Prediction
Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool
Both teams are quite equally matched on paper but the Reds are lacking in form and confidence. Spurs on the other hand, have the momentum with them. They have the quality to punish Liverpool here despite the absence of Son and Romero. The home side should be able to edge this one in the end.
