Liverpool have lost steam in the Premier League title race at the worst possible moment and things could get worse because this weekend, they take on Tottenham Hotspur.
Liverpool recently crashed out of the Europa League and since that exit, they have dropped points in two out of their three league games. They are winless in their previous two matches, losing the Merseyside Derby to Everton and then drawing against West Ham United at the London Stadium.
These two setbacks have cost Liverpool dearly as they are now five points behind league leaders Arsenal with three games to play. While Jurgen Klopp will be hoping that his team can get back to their feet, his side might be staring at yet another defeat because Spurs are not a throw-away team by any means.
Tottenham have also been in really poor form themselves but under Ange, Spurs play a very fearless brand of football so Liverpool will have their work cut out on Sunday. The Anfield outfit are undefeated in 34 of their last 38 Premier League matches but their recent form is horrible because they have won just one out of their last five league outings. The home side have to go all out for a win vs Spurs if they wish to remain in the hunt for the title race.
Jurgen Klopp’s farewell is not at all going well and unless there’s a miracle in the final few matchweeks, Liverpool will have to be content with only the EFL Cup trophy.
Liverpool’s team news and injuries:
Virgil Van Dijk is a doubt for the Tottenham game because the defender has not trained for the whole week.
The manager has said in his press conference: “Virgil wasn’t the whole week yet, probably part of parts of team training today. So we have to see what we can do there.”
Van Dijk is the spine of Liverpool’s backline and if he is not 100% fit then it will be a nightmare for the manager. If VVD is not ready then Klopp will have to rely on the pairing of Konate and 21-year-old Jarell Quansah. The likes of Quansah and Konate have performed fairly well but we doubt if they will be able to hold the fort for 90 minutes against the likes of Richarlison, Maddison and Son.
Gravenberch played alongside Endo and Mac Allister in the West Ham United game but he is going to make way for Szoboszlai because that’s the preferred midfield trio for Jurgen Klopp.
Conor Bradley is very close to making a comeback but Diogo Jota remains sidelined and will not be a part of the matchday squad on Sunday.
Mo Salah and Klopp seemed to be involved in a minor spat on the touchline at the London Stadium however the manager has made it clear that there is no bad blood between the two.
The manager has revealed: “Completely resolved[the issue]. It’s no problem. If we didn’t know each other for so long I’m not sure how we would deal with it but we know each other for that long and respect each other too much.”
It will be interesting to see if the Liverpool manager puts Mo Salah on the bench once again because he’s already admitted that it is a challenge naming his starting lineup after the recent frustrating results.
Liverpool predicted line up vs Tottenham Hotspur:
Predicted Starting XI(4-3-3): Alisson; Trent, Robertson, Van Dijk/Quansah, Konate; Endo, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister; Luis Diaz, Nunez, Mo Salah.
