Tottenham face title-chasing Liverpool in crucial Premier League clash | OneFootball

Tottenham v Liverpool – Premier League Preview

Date – 22nd December 2024

Venue – White Hart Lane

Kick-off – 16.30

After a successful quarter-final win over Southampton in the week, a place was booked in the semi-finals of that domestic competition for the reigning champions, Liverpool. Within that Wednesday night contest on the South Coast, a major endeavour was undertaken by the Anfield head coach, Arne Slot, as he rotated heavily to ensure his first team elite were rested and prepared for this Sunday’s trip to North London. Tottenham, however, were forced to field a near full-strength side of available assets, as Thursday night saw them battle a strong Manchester United team with both opposition managers eager to create momentum away from their inconsistent runs of form.

Tottenham Availability

Guglielmo Vicario, Richarlison, Ben Davies, Wilson Odobert, Cristian Romero, and Micky van de Ven are all injured for this game, whereas Destiny Udogie faces a late fitness test. Rodrigo Bentancur will complete his seven-game suspension at the weekend.

Regarding recent form, the Lily Whites defeated Southampton 0-5 at the St Mary’s Stadium last weekend, after a 1-1 draw away to Rangers in the Europa League. A disheartening 3-4 loss was endured at home to Chelsea the weekend before that game at Ibrox. After 16 games played in the Premier League, Spurs have a disappointing 23 points on the board and are currently sitting in tenth place.

A predicted lineup for the home team is listed below, in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Ange Postecoglou will have to be careful not to overload his available squad, therefore, much of the team which won 4-3 over Manchester United on Thursday will be retained for this Super Sunday encounter.

GK – Fraser Forster

RB – Pedro Porro

RCB – Radu Drăgușin

LCB – Archie Gray

LB – Destiny Udogie

CM – Pape Matar Sarr

ACM – James Maddison

CM – Yves Bissouma

RW – Dejan Kulusevski

CF – Dominic Solanke

LW – Son Heung-min

The Liverpool Availability

Conor Bradley and Ibrahima Konaté are unavailable for Arne Slot, though are both nearing first-team training. Andy Robertson is now available after serving a one-match suspension in the week.

In terms of recent form, the Reds overcame an ambitious Southampton team, 1-2, following a 2-2 draw at home to Fulham and a 3-3 draw with Newcastle at St James Park. Liverpool convincingly defeated Manchester City 2-0 at Anfield before that, following a 2-0 victory against fellow Champions League contenders Real Madrid, also at Anfield. After fifteen games played, Liverpool sits at the top of the Premier League with an impressive total of 36 points.

Below is the team I believe the Dutch boss will start for this intriguing encounter. The rotation in the week will allow fresh faces to return, with some solid competition starting to build amongst the title-challenging team.

GK – Alisson Becker

RB – Trent Alexander Arnold

RCB – Joe Gomez

LCB – Virgil van Dijk (c)

LB – Andy Robertson

CM – Alexis Mac Allister

ACM – Dominik Szoboszlai

CM – Ryan Gravenberch

RF – Mohamed Salah

CF – Diogo Jota

LF – Cody Gakpo

How Will This Contest Play Out

Liverpool will want to start fast and attack a defence that is far from first choice, as well as test a backup keeper who can be prone to errors when he has the ball at his feet. A counter-attacking enterprise will be undertaken by the hosts, as they attempt to exploit space with pace and precision. A tactical battle will be mapped out by each attacking head coach, with the final scoreline likely to be a narrow one.

Player to watch – Diogo Jota

Steven Smith’s Score Prediction;

Tottenham 1 – 2 Liverpool