Tottenham host Liverpool in the final Premier League fixtures before Christmas. The two sides clash in Sunday’s late kick off at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium with both in search of three points.
Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs have come under pressure in recent weeks with the manager being accused of stubbornly sticking to the same gameplan when things are going wrong. Defeats to Bournemouth and Chelsea sent Tottenham into the bottom half of the table before a confidence-building 5-0 victory over Southampton, and a 4-3 Carabao Cup win against Man Utd, gave the team some momentum.
Liverpool meanwhile continue to impress under Arne Slot though there have been a couple of stumbles. Back-to-back draws against Newcastle and Fulham have allowed their rivals to close the gap in the league table and Slot will want his team to get back to winning ways with a strong performance in London today.
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Team news
Liverpool’s injury list is much smaller, with just Conor Bradley and Ibrahima Konate left on the injury list approaching the Christmas run of games.
Andy Robertson and Alexis Mac Allister are back from suspensions, while means Arne Slot’s only big calls come in choosing between Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones in midfield, and two from four in attack between Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and the fit-again Diogo Jota – but the latter is yet to start since returning from injury.
Chris Wilson22 December 2024 13:55
Team news
Spurs remain without a host of players including their first-choice triangle of goalkeeper and centre-backs: Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero. Rodrigo Bentancur remains suspended, while Richarlison, Wilson Odobert and Ben Davies are all still out as well. There are doubts over Timo Werner, who wouldn’t start anyway, and Destiny Udogie, who certainly will start if passed fit. Archie Gray is likely to continue at centre-back, while James Maddison might miss out.
Chris Wilson22 December 2024 13:50
Tottenham vs Liverpool LIVE
Premier League leaders Liverpool will hope to returning to winning ways in the top flight after back-to-back draws against Newcastle United and Fulham – plus a postponed match against local rivals Everton – means their lead has been cut to just two points.
Indeed, given second-placed Chelsea kick-off in the hours ahead of the Reds, Arne Slot’s team could be down to second by the time they start this fixture, albeit with two matches fewer played than all their rivals.
Slot’s side have been near-perfect since he took over in summer, losing just once in all competitions this term and winning with a rotated side in midweek to reach the Carabao Cup semi-finals – where they will meet Tottenham Hotspur across two legs in January and February. Before that, though, comes this fixture against the same opponents in the league, with Ange Postecoglou’s side in typically erratic form themslves of late.
Tenth in the table ahead of the weekend, Spurs’ most recent matches have seen them beaten by Bournemouth, edged 4-3 by Chelsea, draw with Rangers, thrash Southampton 5-0 and beat Man United 4-3 in the cup – stability and consistency are simply not words the squad understand this term, which could make for another fascinating encounter on Sunday.
Chris Wilson22 December 2024 13:40
Good afternoon!
Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of today’s Premier League action between Tottenham and Liverpool.
The two sides meet in London in the final top-flight fixture before Christmas and both are in need of three points for different reasons. Tottenham sit in the bottom half of the table but a win will throw them back in contention for the European places while Liverpool hope to maintain their lead at the top of the table.
We’ll have all the team news, line-ups and more throughout the day so stick with us as we build up to kick off at 4.30pm.
Mike Jones22 December 2024 11:40