Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool: Preview, Team News and Prediction
Tottenham Hotspur’s tussle with Liverpool makes for the Premier League match day 7’s marquee fixture. Both teams, unbeaten, are set to face-off at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium on Saturday, September 30th in a clash to determine top of the table rankings.
Ange Postecoglou has stirred up an absorbing culture and brand of football at Spurs in a short space of time.
His Tottenham unit seem to answer all the questions thrown at them, recently against Arsenal in the North London derby when skipper Son Heung-Min’s brace of goals ensured they came away from enemy territory with a valuable point.
Liverpool, meanwhile, have been in a similar run of form after another rebuild, much like that of Tottenham’s. With their new-look midfield firing on all cylinders, Mohamed Salah is creating openings and the team is netting goals with aplomb.
Even though they’ve lost just one of their last 21 Premier League meetings with Spurs, Jurgen Klopp’s Reds will be wary of this Tottenham team that doesn’t allow opponents to dictate how they want to go about their business.
Team News
Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs have been hit with several gut-wrenching blows to their forward players, as Brennan Johnson sustained a hamstring injury an hour into his full debut, and James Maddison – provider of both Son goals – hobbled off before full-time following a knee jolt.
“One of the reasons we didn’t buy (a number nine) is that Sonny, central or wide, has all the characteristics to play in any system. I have a picture in my head of what want the team to look like and we are still building. There is lots to be done,” remarked Postecoglou, indicating that Son could continue as the center forward after having scored five goals in his last three games.
This could mean Manor Solomon returns to the starting XI and Richarlison is used as an impact substitute.
Bryan Gil and Ryan Sessegnon have returned to training but are still a ways off from a competitive appearance. Ivan Perisic, Giovani Lo Celso and Rodrigo Bentancur are all sidelined for the foreseeable future.
Liverpool
Thiago Alcantara is the only other casualty currently, and as far as the team is concerned, they’ll be delighted with the win against Leicester – and more so for his star players to have received well-earned rests in midweek.
Jurgen Klopp revealed this week that right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has trained as normal with the expectation being that he will be available to face Spurs. If he’s unable to go, Joe Gomez will continue doing a neat job down the right-hand side of the Reds’ defense.
Predicted XI
Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1): Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Maddison, Solomon; Son
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Jones; Salah, Nunez, Diaz
Match Prediction
Both sides are putting their dream unbeaten start to the season on the line, and there’s no better way to approach it than attacking with flair. Goals are expected in this game, not just because of the way the teams line up but also due to their defensive generosity at times.
Spurs just seem to have that extra cutting edge and serious momentum in their favor and are likely to give Liverpool a run for their money and manage to scalp another point.
Final score: Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Liverpool
-Roy Akarshak
Twitter: @RoyAkarshak
Photo: Кирилл Венедиктов. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
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