The latest injury news from the opposition camp before Liverpool travel to play Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League
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Updated 07:51, 20 Dec 2024
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Richarlison of Tottenham Hotspur reacts as he leaves the pitch
Richarlison is one of nine possible Tottenham Hotspur absentees for Liverpool's visit to London on Sunday (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
(Image: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Liverpool will hope to take advantage of a severely depleted Tottenham Hotspur side when they meet on Sunday. A result could be the difference between sitting atop the Premier League on Christmas Day or not.
Ange Postecoglou's side came away 4-3 winners against Manchester United in the Carabao Cup and went 3-0 up at one stage. Spurs were taken by surprise when United fired two goals in the space of 15 minutes in the second half but Son Heung-min calmed supporters by netting Spurs' fourth goal minutes before stoppage time.
Jonny Evans then pulled one back for the visitors in the 94th minute but Ruben Amorim's team were unable to produce an equaliser to take the game to extra-time. Often a telltale sign of champions is their placement on December 25th, with 16 of the Premier League's 32 campaigns to date seeing the first-place team go on to lift the trophy.
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Chelsea have the opportunity to jump ahead when they face Everton earlier on Sunday, though it could be argued the figures are skewed if the Reds fail to match them as they have actually played one fixture fewer.
A final English top-flight assignment before the big day sees Liverpool take to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - the site of one of last season's most frustrating defeats.
But Arne Slot will make sure his team focus on the task at hand rather than get hung up on wrongly disallowed goals, inconsistent red cards or a stoppage time own goal. There are three points to be won, especially since their opponents are in mixed form and could be without nine players.
Liverpool have known for a long time they would not have to face Rodrigo Bentancur. The midfielder was slapped with a seven-game ban for using a racial slur against teammate Son Heung-min, with Sunday's match the last of that punishment.
Another major absentee confirmed last month was first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario. He kept a clean sheet during Spurs' 4-0 win at Manchester City on November 23, however did so playing the majority with a fractured ankle that afterwards required surgery.
36-year-old Fraser Forster has filled in since, conceding nine goals in six outings. The other major misses for Ange Postecoglou are central defensive pairing Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven. Both made returns on December 8 against Chelsea, however were unable to finish the game with quad and hamstring problems respectively flaring up once again.
"I think both will be [back] in the new year. Not as significant an injury as last time with Micky but obviously having a setback the medical team is going to make sure he is right to go," their manager confirmed on Wednesday.
Without them available, Spurs have been forced to line up with Radu Dragusin and 18-year-old natural midfielder Archie Gray at the back. Further hamstring injuries are going to mean striker Richarlison, full-back Ben Davies and midfielder Wilson Odobert will miss out.
Youngster Mikey Moore has not been part of a matchday squad for well over a month. The 17-year-old has been suffering the adverse effects of a recent virus.
And Destiny Udogie lasted only 28 minutes at full-back for Spurs' 5-0 rout of Southampton last Sunday. Postecoglou commented: "From the other night, Destiny no injury but he is still sore from the game. Not ruling him out but will see how he is with the turnaround."
Their only respite is the return of midfielder Yves Bissouma, who served a one-match suspension last weekend for accumulating five yellow cards.