Liverpool will travel to London to face Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Sunday and might need a win to return to the top depending on results elsewhere.
The Reds are just two points clear of Chelsea, who might temporarily go top as they face Everton in an earlier kickoff on Sunday. Arne Slot’s side were victorious in their mid-week Carabao Cup fixture against Southampton, but are winless in their last two Premier League games.
Liverpool could only manage draws against Newcastle United and then Fulham, but their performance against the latter was impressive as they played most of the game with 10 men.
Tottenham too won their quarter-final game against Manchester United in the League Cup, and have been rewarded with a two-legged semi-final tie against none other than Slot’s Liverpool.
It was an eventful game when the two sides last squared off at the London Stadium with controversial VAR errors, late drama, and a couple of red cards.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool – Team News
Tottenham Hotspur
Ange Postecoglou is still without several key players. Defenders Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, and Ben Davies have been ruled out and Guglielmo Vicario is still unavailable. Rodrigo Bentancur is still suspended.
An emphatic performance against Liverpool in 2017 🔥 pic.twitter.com/cVhTUqdbAt
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 21, 2024
Destiny Udogie and Timo Werner should be back in contention for the game. Although Richarlison is unavailable, Postecoglou has the depth needed for Tottenham to look threatening. It’s the defence that is a big concern.
Fraser Forster is expected to retain his place in the Tottenham Hotspur lineup, but the custodian was far from comfortable when Manchester United pressed with numbers in the mid-week game.
Liverpool
Slot has more options to choose from as some key squad players have returned for Liverpool. Kostas Tsimikas and Federico Chiesa featured off the bench against Southampton.
Trent’s strike on our way to a 3-1 win at Tottenham 😮💨#TOTLIV ’20/21 ✨ pic.twitter.com/o7Uas8vGwe
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 21, 2024
Diogo Jota has now played as a substitute in back-to-back games and he is pushing for a start. The only players who will not make the trip are Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool – probable Lineups
Tottenham Hotspur predicted XI: Forster; Udogie, Gray, Dragusin, Spence; Sarr, Bissouma, Kulusevski; Johnson, Son, Solanke
Liverpool predicted XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, van Dijk, Gomez, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Jones; Salah, Diaz, Gakpo
Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool – Key Battles
Johnson vs Robertson
Andy Robertson’s form has been up and down this season. The Scot is back after serving a suspension, and will likely be up against Johnson who has the pace and directness to cause big problems. Consistency has been the issue for the Spurs attacker, but he will fancy his chances against Robertson.
Udogie vs Salah
Salah was rested against Southampton and will be raring to have a go at a makeshift Spurs defence. The Egyptian is a different player compared to the one he was a few years ago, but his impact at moments is still devastating.
Udogie has shown that he can take on some of the best wingers in the Premier League and subdue them, but Salah only needs one moment to leave a mark in the game, be it with his goals or creativity. The Egyptian has 13 goals and nine assists and will look to add to that.