Tottenham Hotspur will take on Liverpool in the Tottenham Hotspur stadium on Sunday night in the English Premier League. Spurs currently sit at the third position on the table while Liverpool is in 9th position. This has all the ingredients for a classic clash.
Antonio Conte’s men would go into this match with confidence after successive victories against Bournemouth and Marseille. They managed to deliver in the pressure situations and will be confident of putting on another solid show. However, they have created a trend of conceding the first goal and if they need to win this match, they will have to be alert in all departments.
Jurgen Klopp and co will try to get three points from their visit to North London as they try to get in for the Title race. But beating Spurs on their home turf won’t be an easy task especially as they seem rejuvenated after a win against Marseille in the Champions League. The reds will be banking on their main man Mohammed Salah to rise to the occasion.
They have managed to win well in the Champions League but have not been up to the mark in the Premier League. A win in North London would give them immense confidence going forward in the season.
Spurs scores an average of two goals per game but they usually leave it till late. They have instead developed a trend of conceding the first goal and has done so in almost all the matches. They have a very high value for xGA as well which is a testament to the earlier mentioned habit. The hosts will be careful not to do that as “one chance is all it takes” for Liverpool to crush the opponent.
Spurs have an average of 1.23 goals conceded this season and Conte will be mindful of the threat Liverpool poses and will be urging his players to step up to the challenge. The hosts have conceded a total of 16 goals this season and have scored 26 goals. But they have not looked very assured at the back at times.
When it comes to the offensive part of their game, Spurs have done just enough at times to get over the line. While the ability to score a goal in the final minutes is good, one cannot help but wonder if it would eventually lead them to leave it until it’s too late.
They have an average xG of 1.77 this season and an average of 13.46 shots per game. Tottenham Hotspur also builds an average of 26 positional attacks per game. Conte will be counting on his players to put up a good performance against the reds.
Liverpool are not in their best form either. Liverpool are currently in the 9th position in the Premier League and are coming off the back of two successive defeats in the competition. Jurgen Klopp will be asking his players to improve their performance.
They have been making the same mistakes repeatedly and have conceded 15 goals so far in the competition. The concede an average of 1.25 goals per game and 7.35 shots at their post. Questions are asked about Liverpool defence and especially Virgil Van Djik and Trent Alexander Arnold. Their opponents enjoy an average xG of 1.44 as well. After two defeats against Nottingham Forest and Leeds, Klopp will be asking his defence to pick their socks up.
They have not been very bad going forward but they seem to be still searching for players to put in the same amount of work rate as Sadio Mane.
They have scored a total of 23 goals this season. They have an average xG of 2.12 and scores an average of 1.92 goals per game. The reds also attempt around 16.42 shots per game but their accuracy haven’t been that good.
Key Players:
Undoubtedly Spurs’ top scorer this season will be the key man for the hosts if they have to win this match. The English striker has 10 goals to his name in the competition this season and is the second on the goal scoring list, only behind Erling Haaland. His killer instinct in front of goal would be crucial as they face an out-of-form Liverpool defence. He has an xG of 6.71 this season and has an average of 3.3 touches in the penalty area. The 29-yeaer-old has rescued Tottenham Hotspur from many situations in this season and Antonio Conte will be counting on him to produce another stellar display.
Roberto Firmino is Liverpool’s top scorer this season with six goals to his name. He averages 0.63 goals per game and has delivered whenever called upon. The Brazilian enjoys an average of 5.92 touches in the penalty box and has an xG of 0.6. He also averages 0.21 assists per game and has really stepped up after Sadio Mane’s departure. The 31-year-old showing his best form recently and takes an average of 2.96 shots per game. His contribution would be crucial if the reds have to win away from home.
Team News:
The hosts will be welcoming the reds without Son Heung-Min, who is out with an injury. Dejan Kulusevski, Cristian Romero will also be sitting on the sidelines with injury.
Liverpool, on the other hand, will not be having the services of Luis Diaz, Joel Matip, Arthur and Diogo Jota. Ibrahima Konate is most likely to take over from Matip at the centre-bacck position.
The hosts have found ways to return to winning ways before this big clash and will be looking to win all three points in front of their home fans. Liverpool, even though were brilliant in the Champions League midweek, will be trying to bring the form into the Premier League as they try to avoid a hattrick of losses. Despite both teams not being at their best form, this match will prove to be an end-to-end contest and could even prove to be season defining.
