Best odds: 13/25
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Two teams desperately clinging to their waning hopes of playing in the Champions League next season are set to face each other on Sunday, with Liverpool welcoming Tottenham Hotspur to Anfield officially within the 34th round of 2022/23. But for the home side, it will be match No. 33 of the campaign.
Liverpool
At the moment, Liverpool are on a good run, winning every of their last three matches. In fact, they lost only one of their last six, 4-1 away to defending champions Manchester City. Then they went two goals down and pulled back level to draw 2-2 at home against league leaders Arsenal, played a goalless draw away to Chelsea, smashed Leeds United away by 1-6, beat Nottingham Forest at home by 3-2, and beat West Ham in London by 1-2 earlier this week.
Naturally, these results saw them climb up the ladder a bit, and right now, the Merseysiders are seventh with 53 points, seven less than Manchester United in fourth, one less than Spurs and Aston Villa in fifth and sixth, respectively. Jurgen Klopp and his team also need to be wary of Brighton and Hove Albion, who have 49 points but two games in hand.
Much has been said about Liverpool s need for reconstruction this summer, and plenty of action in the transfer market is expected, especially in the midfield section of the squad. There are several imminent departures afoot and others may happen as well, and the players who come in should be more than mere replacements.
Team News
The teenage duo of midfielder Stefan Bajcetic (groin) and defender Calvin Ramsay (knee) will not play again this season. Midfielder Naby Keita and forward Roberto Firmino are still out as well, but Klopp will be pleased to have defender Ibrahima Konate back in his ranks. The France international is, however, likely to remain on the bench on Sunday.
Alisson Becker will be in goal, with Virgil van Dijk joined by Joel Matip in the heart of defence, after the Cameroonian s excellent performance against West Ham, with Andy Robertson in their left. Trent Alexander-Arnold will start on the right defensive flank, but expect him to drift frequently into the middle of the park, where he ll come closer to Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Curtis Jones. One of the latter three could, however, be benched in favour of Thiago Alcantara. Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah are set to start upfront, while Darwin Nunez could come in on the left to give Diogo Jota some well-earned rest. Luis Diaz is an option too, but the Colombia international is unlikely to start so soon after to his return from a five-month absence.
Tottenham Hotspur
Sitting fifth with 54 points, Spurs are obviously still ahead of Liverpool, though not exactly in a better position when it comes to hoping to finish inside the top four, having played one game more. If they lose at Anfield, and come out of the game below the home side, their already poor prospect of achieving that goal will dwindle even more.
Spurs are not only fighting Liverpool on Sunday, but also to emerge from a heavy crisis which lasts for quite a long time now and has already seen two coaches get the sack within a month. Ryan Mason is the man in charge at the moment, and the former midfielder will be aware of the fact that Spurs have already suffered defeat at the hands of Liverpool this term, at their own shiny stadium in North London. In fact, Spurs beat Liverpool only once in their last 22 meetings in all competitions.
Spurs won only one of their last six matches in all competitions, 2-1 at home against Brighton, and that was with a fair bit of luck as the PGMOL apologized afterwards for the officials, both on the pitch and in the VAR room, failing to award a stonewall penalty to the Seagulls. Aside from that, the North Londoners drew 3-3 away to Southampton, drew 1-1 away to Everton, lost 2-3 at home to Bournemouth, got destroyed 6-1 away to Newcastle, and eventually fought back to draw 2-2 at home against Manchester United after going 0-2 down.
Spurs are currently worried about the prospect of losing the top goalscorer in their history. Harry Kane is reportedly of interest to numerous clubs, including Manchester United, Chelsea and Bayern Munich, and his current contract enters its final year this summer. Club chairman Daniel Levy has vowed to do his best to keep the 30-year-old in North London for years to come, but it remains to be seen if that will prove possible as the chances of the team winning a major trophy with him in their ranks fade.
Team News
Captain Hugo Lloris won t be in goal for Spurs at Anfield, having been replaced at halftime of the Newcastle mauling with a groin problem and missed the United match. Midfielders Rodrigo Bentacur (knee) and Yves Bissouma (ankle), as well as wingbacks Emerson Royal (knee) and Ryan Sessegnon (thigh).
With Lloris out of action, Fraser Forster will be in goal. Eric Dier, Cristian Romero and Clement Lenglet will likely form the back three again. Oliver Skipp and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg will be looking to control the middle of the park, with Ivan Perisic on the left flank and Pedro Porro on the right. Kane will, of course, start upfront, with Son Heung-min close behind on one side, while Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison compete for the spot on the other.
Conclusion
Mason will likely be looking to avoid repeating the mistake Christian Stellini made at St James Park, and his team will be playing deep, with the lines pulled close together to form a compact, defensive unit. The pace of Son and the holdup ability of Kane should provide the visitors with a couple of counterattacking opportunities as they work towards exploiting the space behind Liverpool s high defensive line.
On the other hand, Liverpool have shown some impressive counterattacking in their last couple of games, reminiscent of their best days under Klopp, and if their progressive improvement continues on Sunday, the visitors won t stand much chance of avoiding defeat.
Verdict: Home win
Best odds: 13/25
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