Tottenham vs. Liverpool preview
A total of 30 goals, no defeats, and two in-form teams, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, meeting in the best league. This week’s biggest clash in the Premier League will see Jurgen Klopp’s men travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to face Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur. The two teams, on paper, were not in the best shape possible at the end of the transfer window. However, they have adapted brilliantly to set a marker in the league.
Jurgen Klopp has made many changes across the pitch, from personnel to tactics, in what now many call Liverpool 2.0. The rise of several young players who have seamlessly slotted into the senior team has been interesting in this rebuild of the team. Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliot, Jarell Quansah, Ben Doak, and Caoimhin Kelleher have given Liverpool much-needed squad depth. In fact, all of these players were involved in Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Leicester City in the EFL Cup.
This has allowed Klopp to rotate his squad and keep players fresh for a season where the team will challenge for multiple trophies. New signings like Alexis MacAllister and Dominik Szoboszlai have been dominating in the midfield, while last season’s big signing, Darwin Nunez, is now starting to fulfill his potential.
Meanwhile, Tottenham have taken like a duck to water to Postecoglou’s tactics. After losing Harry Kane to Bayern Munich, many had written off the London-based club. However, new signing James Maddison took up the creative role, which freed Son Heung Min to become Kane’s successor. They have 11 goal contributions, the most by any duo in the league.
Maddison has, in particular, been brilliant, being ranked third on the Expected Threat (xT) metric and fourth in the Expected Offensive Value Added (xOVA). He also has the joint-most assists in the league. The person with whom he is tied is Mohamed Salah, who is once again leading the scoring charts for Liverpool. The Egyptian has scored three and assisted four so far in the season.
Another area where the teams have excelled is the goalkeeping department, with Alisson Becker and Guglielmo Vicario topping the charts for saves ratio at 81.48 and 77.42 per cent, respectively.
Tottenham vs Liverpool lineups
Tottenham predicted lineup
Despite having a brilliant start to the season, one area where Tottenham have struggled is injuries. The London club are currently without their starters, such as Giovanni Lo Celso, Rodrigo Bentancur, Ivan Perisic, and Ryan Sessegnon. Two more names were added to the list during their clash against Arsenal in the form of Maddison and Brennan Johnson, with the latter in a race to be fit in time for the game,
Postecoglou is likely to field the same squad that played Arsenal. In case Johnson is unavailable, Richarlison will play instead.
Tottenham lineup: Vicario; Udogie, Van de Van, Romero, Porro; Bissouma, PM Sarr; Richarlison, Maddison, Kulusevski; Son
Liverpool predicted lineup
On the other hand, Liverpool have recovered from the previous season’s injury nightmare. The only major absentee is Thiago, who is still recovering from a hip injury. While the Spaniard is a brilliant player, Liverpool have adapted smoothly without his presence. Meanwhile, Trent Alexander Arnold, also returning from a minor injury, will be assessed before the game to see if he could start instead of Joe Gomez. Much like Tottenham, Klopp will probably be the same squad that beat West Ham United.
However, the only change that Klopp could make is to replace Curtis Jones with new signing Ryan Gravenberch. While Jones has established himself as an integral part of the team, Gravenberch has hit the ground running within games of joining the team.
Liverpool lineup: Alisson; Robertson, Van Dijk, Matip, Gomez; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, MacAllister; Diaz, Nunez, Salah
Tottenham vs Liverpool predictions
Both Tottenham and Liverpool have made good starts this season while playing exciting football. This has also left gaps for the other teams to catch them on the break. This means that both teams have the same strengths and weaknesses. On top of that, both teams have in-form goalkeepers, which will only make things better.
Under Postecoglou, Tottenham have improved by leaps and bounds and can currently beat any league team. However, Liverpool have won three points under various circumstances (away from home, being a goal down, being a man down). And this experience might help Jurgen Klopp get his sixth consecutive Premier League win of the season.
FootTheBall predicts a 2-1 win for Liverpool.