Tottenham vs Liverpool: Premier League Match Preview and Prediction

Premier League runaway leaders Liverpool have a tough task ahead as they take on Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham in a blockbuster clash.

Mourinho’s Spurs will look to stop Liverpool’s unbeaten run in the league, whereas, Liverpool will look to win and surge ahead in the quest to win their maiden Premier League trophy.

Tottenham are having a horrendous season in which nothing is going right for them. They also sacked their long-time coach and are looking to rebuild under Mourinho.

Liverpool, on the other hand, are on their way to emulate Arsenal’s invincible by going unbeaten in the whole season.

Spurs are seventh in the table with eight wins and six draws. They have lost seven matches already and are a huge 28 points behind league leaders Liverpool.

The Reds are at the top of the standings and have only dropped two points this season. They have won nineteen matches and are in terrific form at the moment.

Tottenham lost to Southampton away from home in the last gameweek. They conceded an early goal and were not able to penetrate a staunch Saints defence.

Liverpool comfortably saw off Sheffield United at Anfield. The two superstars Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane were on target.

Last time out

Liverpool were 2-1 winners when these two met last time around. England captain Harry Kane gave Spurs the lead in the very first minute of the game but Liverpool rallied around in the second-half of the game to overhaul the deficit. Jordan Henderson and Mohamed Salah were on target for the Reds.

Team News

For Spurs, their talismanic striker Harry Kane has suffered a long-term injury and joins Moussa Sissoko, Hugo Lloris, Ben Davies and Tanguy Ndombele on the sidelines.

Son Heung-Min will return after his red card induced ban to lead the attack with Erik Lamela also coming into the eleven. Jan Vertonghen may start at left-back with Danny Rose also being an option. 

For Liverpool, Nathaniel Clyne, Fabinho, James Milner and Naby Keita will all miss the trip to North London. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is expected to start in midfield, though Adam Lallana is also an option. 

Joel Matip, Dejan Lovren and Xherdan Shaqiri are all closing in on returns to fitness, but the trip to north London is likely to come too soon for the trio.

Key Battles

Son Heung- Min vs Virgil van Dijk

Son will return from his ban to spearhead the Spurs attack. The South Korea international is one of the best players in the league and Spurs will hope that he comes up good against the league leaders.

The 27-year old recently won the Premier League goal of the month for November and is also coming off a rest. He is in tremendous form and his pace and dribbling is one to behold.

Virgil van Dijk is arguably the best defender on the planet right now. He has transformed the Reds’ defence inside out and will try to stop the marauding South Korean.

The Dutch international is the leader of one of the best defences around the world. The colossal figure has been ever so reliable this season as well. He is known for not going into reckless tackles and rely on his reading of the game to thwart any danger.

Serge Aurier vs Sadio Mane

The Ivory Coast international Aurier is a volatile defender. In one game, he plays like a champion but in another he goes for a reckless tackle and is red carded to leave his team hanging.

The tough tackling defender is world class on his day and  has improved a lot under Mourinho. He will bear the responsibility to stop Sadio Mane, who is coming back after winning the African Player of the Year.

Sadio Mane is one of the prized assets of this Liverpool team. He will try to make inroads into the Spurs defence through the left wing and will come face to face with Aurier.

Mane is in a rich vein of form coming into this game and has already scored eleven goals this season. Aurier has to be very careful and shouldn’t give an inch to Mane for him to utilize. If he fails, Mane will surely make Spurs pay.

Prediction

Tottenham have been poor off late, winning just one of their last five matches in all competitions and their record against Liverpool is also underwhelming.

But, the London side is playing at home and will be bolstered by a returning Son Heung-Min. One can’t count out a Mourinho side at any point of time and against any opposition. He has broken Liverpool’s heart once. Will he do it again?

Liverpool,  meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last 37 Premier league matches. Having kept a clean sheet in their last five league matches, Liverpool have the means to shut out a Tottenham side, who are without star striker Harry Kane.

The Reds have won their last four matches against Tottenham in all competitions and have scored at least two goals in all of them. The Liverpool juggernaut will be too difficult to stop and they are backed to come away with a win.

Score Prediction- Tottenham 1-2 Liverpool