This is essentially the time of the season when pretenders are separated from the contenders. With only seven games between Leicester City and the Premier League trophy, Tottenham Hotspur represents the only threat to what is an unprecedented outcome for Leicester themselves.
Spurs are five points behind Leicester City at the very top of the table and Mauricio Pochettino’s men will look to gain ground and confirm their title credentials with a win at Liverpool.
Anfield under Jurgen Klopp has regained its long lost air of invincibility as Liverpool are bang in the middle of some impeccable home form. Both teams will be out to prove a point and Tottenham will be playing the game with a lot at stake. This should make for an incredible match-up for football fans all over the world.
Kickoff and Live Telecast
Channel: Star Sports 2
Date and Time: 2 April, 10.00 PM IST
Venue: Anfield, Liverpool
Live Stream: starsports.com
Team News
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur enter the game with no fresh injury concerns with Jan Vertonghen having returned to training but not fit enough to play a part in the game. Toby Alderweireld and Kevin Wimmer are expected to start the game with the former having recovered from illness.
Reports of Erik Lamela having picked up a muscle strain on international duty seem to have no bearing on his expected start at Anfield.
Liverpool
Liverpool have not been lucky this season with injuries. Roberto Firmino is a major doubt for the game having barely recovered from the injury which kept him out of the game vs Southampton.
Christian Benteke is out of the reckoning for the game with an injury. Divock Origi is back in the frame from a knock and Philippe Coutinho seems to have no ill effects of travelling across the world for international duty. Lucas Leiva remains out with a thigh injury.
Probable Lineups
Liverpool(4-3-3): Mignolet; Clyne, Lovren, Sakho, Flanagan, Emre Can, Henderson, Milner, Lallana, Coutinho, Sturridge
Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Rose, Wimmer, Alderweireld, Walker, Dembele, Dier, Eriksen, Alli, Lamela, Kane
Form guide
Liverpool
Liverpool step into the game having been completely torn to shreds by Southampton after losing a two-goal lead to Ronald Koeman’s men at St. Mary’s. The result would suggest Liverpool have yet to shake off their inconsistencies this season.
Aside from that one game, Liverpool have been in great form overall and in especially excellent form at home. Their last two games at home have seen the Merseyside club outplay and overpower both the blue and red halves of Manchester and they will look to inflict some pain on London this time around.
Last 5 Matches: W-W-W-D-L (Last Match: Southampton 3-2 Liverpool)
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur have been in great form against some of the teams lower down in the table of late but have found the going tough against the bigger names that have crossed their path.
Their last five games include wins against Bournemouth and Aston Villa, two losses both to Borussia Dortmund, home and away in the Europa League and a tightly contested draw against Arsenal.
Tottenham will look to create some momentum as the season draws to a close and they look to cut down Leicester City’s lead at the top of the table
Last 5 Matches: D-L-W-L-W ( Last match: Tottenham 3-0 Bournemouth)
Key stats:
- Liverpool’s last game against Tottenham was a 0-0 draw at White Hart Lane which was also Jurgen Klopp’s first game as Liverpool manager.
- Tottenham Hotspur have conceded 18 goals in the last six meetings between the two clubs.
- Tottenham Hotspur boasts the best defensive record when away from home having conceded only 12 goals on their travels.
- Liverpool have dropped the most points from winning positions in the League this season having dropped 15 points.
Key Battles:
Dele Alli vs Emre Can
This midfield battle is as big as it can get in a game of this magnitude. Aside from the usual battle, this is one match-up which has definite history behind it. It is common knowledge by now that Dele Alli was Liverpool bound before the transfer committee at Liverpool vetoed against the move.
Dele Alli has come up leaps and bounds since then as Tottenham Hotspur didn’t waste any time in snapping up the then teenage talent from the lower leagues. Alli has now become the most coveted young midfielder in England and has caught the attention of the biggest clubs across Europe with his recent performances.
Fresh off a fantastic performance against Germany where he schooled more experienced midfielders than himself, Alli will be looking to take the momentum from his burst of form into Anfield this time around. Up against him is the very man the so-called transfer committee lined up instead.
Emre Can has been a fixture in midfield under Jurgen Klopp and will look to put in another ‘Rolls Royce performance’ as he clashes with Dele Alli in a battle which might be decisive for the game. If Alli will try to show the Anfield faithful exactly what they missed out on, Emre Can will try to show the world exactly why Liverpool went after him instead. This is going to be one tasty battle.
Harry Kane vs Mamadou Sakho
There’s no stopping Harry Kane at the moment. Almost everything he touches finds its way into the back of the net and even Germany got a whiff of his ability in the friendly which was turned on its head partly due to Kane’s contribution.
Harry Kane has Premier League defences scratching their heads as he continues to prove that his delirious form last season was no fluke. Climbing his way up the goal-scoring charts, Kane will look to add the Liverpool backline to his growing list of schooled defences.
That isn’t going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination considering the kind of form Mamadou Sakho is in. In and out of the team under Brendan Rodgers, Jurgen Klopp seems to have revitalised the man-mountain Mamadou and the player has grasped the chance he has been given with both hands.
Sakho has done little wrong since the turn of the year and alongside Dejan Lovren, the Liverpool defender has been an absolute beast on the pitch. If Harry Kane wants any joy on the night, he will have to best Mamadou Sakho, who by now must be relishing the opportunity to teach the Tottenham Hotspur forward a thing or two.
Prediction
Liverpool have been rampant at Anfield of late and will be out to prove that their capitulation against Southampton in their last game was only a blip which they’ve put behind by now. Tottenham will have victory alone in their sights as they chase down Leicester City and attempt to cut their five-point lead down to size.
With the business end of the season having begun. Pochettino’s men are favourites for the tie but it’s difficult to bet against Liverpool at the moment, so a hard-fought victory for the Reds is the prediction here.
Liverpool 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
