Today at 18:00 Lithuanian time an intriguing match of the 9th round will take place in the English "Premier League". London's "Tottenham" will host "Liverpool" in front of their own fans.
Victory in these matches is very important for both clubs in the fight for the top positions. However, there should be no easy battle - both teams competed in the UEFA Champions League tournament this week.
Form
Both "Tottenham" and "Liverpool" had a great week in the Champions League. "Spurs" had a rough start, but managing to draw against the reigning champions of the tournament, Madrid's "Real", Mauricio Pochettino's team did not disappoint and brought positive emotions. On the other hand, "Liverpool" achieved a historic victory - they crushed "Maribor" with a score of 7-0.
"Tottenham" has been showing a much better game in the Premier League - the "Spurs" have not lost in their last five matches, only drawing once with "Swansea". The other four games ended in victories for "Spurs", with Harry Kane scoring goals in all of these matches.
Meanwhile, "Liverpool" has been showing poor results in the English Premier League - with only one victory in the last five matches. They have also played to a draw three times and suffered a devastating loss against "Manchester City".
Currently, "Man City" is leading the table, but "Tottenham", in third place, has the opportunity to reduce the gap to 5 points and challenge "Man Utd" for the second spot with a victory.
On the other hand, "Liverpool" with three wins is currently in eighth place and is behind the leaders by a 12-point difference.
Team News
"Tottenham" has good news - one of their best players, Ben Davies, is ready to return to the field. Erik Lamela, Victor Wanyama, and Moussa Dembele will miss the match due to injuries. Also, Dele Alli will return to the starting lineup after missing the Champions League match due to suspension.
"Liverpool" will have to do without three players - Adam Lallana, Sadio Mane, and Nathaniel Clyne, who are sidelined due to various injuries. Jordan Henderson, who rested and did not play in the Champions League, will also return to the starting lineup.
Predicted lineups:
"Tottenham": Hugo Lloris; Toby Alderweireld, Davison Sanchez, Jan Vertonghen; Serge Aurier, Eric Dier, Harry Winks, Ben Davies; Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane, Dele Alli.
"Liverpool": Simon Mignolet, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, Dejan Lovren, Alberto Moreno; Jordan Henderson, Giorginio Wijnaldum, Emre Can; Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah.
Interesting facts
"Tottenham" has not beaten "Liverpool" in the last nine Premier League matches, dating back to March 2014 - "The Reds" have achieved six wins and scored 22 goals during that time.
The last three matches between the two teams ended in draws.
After achieving two wins against "Liverpool" while managing the "Southampton" team, Mauricio Pochettino has failed to defeat Liverpool more times than he succeeded - he has gone seven matches without a win.
"Tottenham" has an almost flawless defense this season - they have kept a clean sheet in four out of the last five Premier League matches.
If "Liverpool" fails to score today, it would be the first time under Jurgen Klopp that the team has gone two consecutive matches without scoring.
Wembley Stadium could be the 53rd ground where "Liverpool" achieves a victory in the English Premier League. No other club has matched this achievement of the current "Liverpool" team.
