Liverpool v Spurs preview: Reds mount late European charge
They now sit in seventh place as a result, although a top-six finish and UEFA Europa League (UEL) qualification will be the minimum they’ll be aiming for.
In spite of that winning run, it hasn’t been one way traffic for the Reds, as question marks around their defence remain given they’ve only kept one clean sheet in their last eight matches.
The Anfield faithful will tolerate their defensive vulnerabilities as long as their team keep securing the points, which is always the expectation considering they’ve lost only once in their last 38 home PL games (W28, D9).
One point above Liverpool sit Tottenham Hotspur, who occupy one of the UEL places despite a very poor three-game winless run (D1, L2).
Ryan Mason’s side showed some heart in coming back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Manchester United on Thursday, but conceding 11 goals themselves in this three-game run, four of which have come in the first ten minutes, raises a red flag.
The majority of that damage was done in their last away match, a record-breaking 6-1 loss to Newcastle, which extended their winless run on the road to seven matches (D2, L5).
A trip to Anfield is hardly the place they’d choose to seek comfort either having won only twice on their last 35 league visits (D10, L23), raising more fears that they will be leapfrogged by Liverpool here which would most likely end any faint hopes of claiming a Champions League place.
Players to watch: No PL player has scored more goals against Spurs than Mohamed Salah since he joined Liverpool, with two of the seven coming in the 2-1 win in the reverse fixture.
Not to be outdone, Tottenham’s Harry Kane has scored four times in eight visits to Anfield, and will be confident of adding to his tally having scored in each of his side’s last three away matches.
Hot stat: Liverpool are the only PL team with a 100% win rate when leading at half-time this season.
