Tottenham Hotspur are at the Wembley Stadium for Saturday’s crunch Premier League showdown versus Liverpool. Mauricio Pochettino’s side come into the game on the back of a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Watford and this sees them just outside of the Champions League places with a one-point deficit to Manchester City, who are positioned fourth.
On the other hand, Jurgen Klopp’s side have had no such issues to be concerned about and they are presently one of three sides including Chelsea and Watford to have made the perfect start to the ongoing campaign. The Merseyside giants have also possessed the best defensive record during this period with just one goal conceded, that too after a blunder from goalkeeper Alisson Becker.
Players to watch for:
Harry Kane – Tottenham Hotspur: The England international has made a fluent start to the current season with two goals and an assist and this has ensured that he has finally got over his August hoodoo. Despite this, there have been concerns over his fitness which was mentioned by Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate during the international break and Pochettino will hope that does not affect the striker’s proceedings this weekend. Kane excelled against the Reds last term with three goals from two appearances and he could have quite easily bagged another, had he not missed a penalty at Anfield. The scuffed spot-kick meant that Spurs could not celebrate their first domestic double versus Liverpool since the 2010/11 campaign.
Sadio Mane – Liverpool: While Mohamed Salah has been gaining all the attention this term, Mane has seemingly outclassed his African compatriot with four goals from as many matches. His efforts see him as the joint top-scorer with Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic and he should prove a menace for Spurs from the left side of the attack with his pace and ability to do layoffs on the counter-attack. Considering this, we can anticipate a tactical battle on the right side of Spurs’ defence and it will be interesting to see whether Kieran Trippier will curb his attacking instincts to limit the space offered to Mane on the counter-attack. Mane has netted twice in seven meetings versus Spurs in his career. Both of those came in a scintillating attacking display at Anfield during the 2016/17 season.
Prediction:
Spurs have secured just one victory over the Reds since 2012 and that came during the previous campaign. Despite this, we are not fancying them to dominate the proceedings this time around with key players in the form of Hugo Lloris and Dele Alli missing through injury.
Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Liverpool
Image – Getty
