Ryan Mason’s second managerial baptism of fire continues on Sunday afternoon, as Tottenham Hotspur travel to Anfield for a Premier League date with Liverpool.
The Lilywhites fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Manchester United in midweek, one day after the Reds also came from behind to defeat West Ham United 2-1.
Team News:
Still moving forward without long-term absentees Stefan Bajcetic (adductor) and Calvin Ramsay (knee), Liverpool also had to make do without Ibrahima Konate for the win over West Ham due to a few concerns over his workload.
Klopp affirmed after the game that the Frenchman was not carrying any sort of injury, though, so he ought to make an immediate return to the backline here – demoting match-winner Matip to the bench in the process – while Roberto Firmino’s muscular problem will not heal in time for Sunday either. Naby Keita might be in with a slim chance of making his comeback from a similar concern, though.
The Reds boss has been loath to drop Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota from the first XI recently, but with the Portuguese taking a knock to the back on Wednesday, Klopp should consider bringing Darwin Nunez back into the fold sometime soon.
Tottenham were also without one of their defensive mainstays for the draw with Man United, as Hugo Lloris sat out with the hip problem that he picked up in the first half of the Newcastle drubbing, and it is still unclear if the Frenchman will be back in between the sticks here.
Yves Bissouma (ankle), Rodrigo Bentancur (ACL), Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring) and Emerson Royal (knee) make up a quartet of known absentees for the visitors, who had Lucas Moura back from a three-game ban on Thursday, but Dejan Kulusevski is first in line for any attacking alterations and should be in with a strong chance of displacing Richarlison.
Eric Dier in particular had a night to forget on Thursday, failing to close down the angle for Rashford’s goal and inexplicably missing a close-range header, but the Englishman should be in no danger of losing his place in the three-man rearguard.
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Jones; Salah, Gakpo, Nunez
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Forster; Romero, Dier, Lenglet; Porro, Hojbjerg, Skipp, Perisic; Kulusevski, Kane, Son
Prediction: Liverpool 3-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Klopp was left elated with a perceived improvement in his side’s defensive display against West Ham, but the Reds still gave up plenty of chances in midweek and should not hold out hope of a clean sheet against a goal-happy Spurs side.
We would not be surprised to see the net ripple a few times in an Anfield classic as both sides retain ambitions of sneaking into the top four, but despite the manner of their midweek fightback, a trip to Anfield – where they have not won since 2011 – should still be a bridge too far for Tottenham, whose away-day misfortune looks set to continue.
